Dakota
aqua
vapor trail
commander whiplash
Base guard
hospital staff, automated voice, and hospital security

2 months later
03/12/21
3:26 PM
interstate 276 east
Dakota POV

The drive to Manehatten was taking longer than I expected due to one thing. One thing that everyone had dreaded back home on earth, regardless of who they were or where they lived, I was stuck in the worst rush hour traffic ever. To make it even worse, it was a Friday and ponies were trying to get out of local towns close to the interstate to go to places for the weekend, and there were also reports on the radio of a major accident down the road that was blocking both lanes of traffic. I resorted to banging my head against the steering wheel out of frustration, thinking it would make a difference. I was doing 45MPH at best but I was averaging 15-20MPH on my way into the city which was odd because usually going into the city was faster than leaving the city but not in Equestria apparently.

I had bought myself another ford since obviously a truck with a secondary engine in the bed that’s only been used twice would cause you to not be able to see much and could cause irreparable damage to the drive line parts if something went wrong or I just pushed the parts too hard. So I had gotten myself a new undriven 2020 F450 platinum and did an engine swap so now It had the Same 7.3L engine and upgrades that I had put into my F350 except this time there was no tank engine in the bed and this time I had 3 inch wheel spacers on the tires and smaller but taller smoke stacks that had come up from the side of the truck instead of through holes cut in the bed, and It had a fully functional factory radio as well and I swapped out the instrument panel for one from a 2016 super duty since I didn’t like the look of the new almost entirely digital instrument panel. The toolbox in the bed also had that weird infinity magic weaved into it as well so that was a bonus. I don’t know why these ponies didn’t come up with their own brand names and just used the exact same manufacturer names from earth. Ford, Chevy, dodge, Chrysler, Buick, Pontiac, Cadillac, toyota, Nissan, Honda, Subaru, Mitsubishi, isuzu, Mazda and even Some European makers like Renault, Mercedes, Audi, fiat, and mini.

At least I had Aqua with me to keep me from going mentally crazy. She was coming with me to help inspect and determine what the first step to bringing up the navy's power would be before we would essentially copy and paste two BB63 and BB67 battleships and potentially a CVN 78 aircraft carrier into Equestria followed by some DDG 51 destroyers and CG 52 cruisers which would most likely come first.

The question of nuclear submarines being in the equestrian navy was still on the table as well because no nation on Equis had subs of any type so prolonged time underwater in a cramped vessel was being debated and tested to see if we could get some. Even if we had nuclear subs, training would be tedious and long, but it would give us the option to strike hard at the heart of Sombra’s growing empire. He had started pushing into neighboring areas and was gaining ground fast. He hadn’t pushed into equestria yet because territory’s of the dragon, diamond dog, griffon, and zebra empires were in the way so we had a buffer zoned about 1465 miles long spanning east to west and 922 miles spanning north to south keeping the nation safe, for now. We still had to start dealing with refugees being displaced by the war but they would be able to return to their homes soon enough. So far the farthest he’s gotten is 278 miles into the west of the griffon empire, having griffonstone being evacuated.

After another 20 minutes, we had finally picked up speed and saw how bad the accident was and why it made traffic so bad. A tractor trailer had overturned and jumped the barrier and struck another truck in the west bound lanes and caused that one to spin out and crash into a ditch, thankfully the trailer was only in the emergency lanes. Highway patrol and paramedics were already on seen but there was no sign of tow trucks anywhere right now. Both drivers were sitting on the side of the road and they seemed to be ok.

Focusing back on the road, I was finally able to get back up to speed and began cruising down the road at 85 MPH. Traffic laws In Equestria were much less strict than back on earth which was great because only 65 MPH on interstates like 95 back home was considered slow and there were always cops sitting in places with LIDAR’s waiting for someone to do a simple 5 over and give them a speeding ticket, bastards.

We were finally in Manehattan now after a painful 10 hour drive. Next time I’m taking a helicopter, or a harrier, regardless of how far I’m going. I’m not going through multiple hours of pure torture and hell like this ever again. I had left at 6AM and it’s close to 4PM now. I had gone most of the way uninterrupted until I hit that traffic. Surprisingly and not surprisingly, Manehattan was pretty much the same as Manhattan back in New York, except Manehattan still had its twin towers unlike Manhattan where it’s towers collapsed after the 911 terrorist attacks and a single tower was built afterwards. Foot traffic was just as heavy as it was in Manhattan and vehicle traffic was quickly approaching the same rate. Manehattan even had its own Statue of Liberty as well. Manehattan was also just one of the five islands that made up the whole city. Just like New York City, the equestrian name was new hope city. The landmarks were almost exactly the same. New hope city even had its own trump tower. Where we were at moment was the exact same location as time square and it was also called time square here as well. The amount of similarities between America and equestria was unreal and mind boggling. The only thing that wasn’t similar was obviously the naval yard we were heading to.

Aqua was giving me directions to the naval yard as it was somewhat difficult to get to, regardless of where you were in the city. Aqua did also have some friends stationed here and would be able to get us through the base and access to just about the entirety of the installation. I could see the ship yard now and it was huge, but largely empty. The base wasn’t as big as the Norfolk naval base back home in Virginia, but it was still pretty big. I could only see one or two ships docked up at the moment. They looked like dreadnoughts though, big guns, thick armor, and a lot of anti air weapons, but they were still kind of small, if this was the best equestria had to offer, they would have been fucked if the navy was needed and those two were the best equestria had to offer. The planned battleships, destroyers, cruisers, and aircraft carriers would help balance out the power of the navy.

We finally found our way onto an approach road and we were now approaching the gates to the base. Because of the fact that a war was going on that equestria was involved in, all military installations were on a higher state of alert, and since the defcon system was introduced, equestria as a whole and her new allies were currently at defcon 3. We still had to show our military ID’s at the gate so we wouldn’t raise any suspicion. I told aqua to give me her ID real quick as we pulled up. I rolled down the window and handed the cards to the guard on duty there.

We’re here on behalf of princess celestia. We were sent to inspect this navy yard and determine what’s going to happen, your base commander should’ve been informed about this.

“Our CO never tells us anything. He only told us you would be here around 1. We were expecting you 2-3 hours ago.”

You can blame the overturned tractor trailers blocking parts of 276 east and west. Poor bastards are probably still waiting for the tow trucks to arrive. Anyways, where should I park up and wait for the commander?
The guard pointed me over to a parking lot by a large office building. I gave aqua her ID back and started driving over towards the said office building.

I’m gonna drop you off in front aqua, while I go look for a place to park and wait for you guys to come back out.

“Alright. Shouldn't take longer than 20 minutes to find the commander. He knows we were coming and should be expecting at least one of us.” She said.

I pulled up in front of the main entrance and unlocked the door so she could get out. I then proceeded to circle the parking lot for a few minutes until I finally found an empty spot towards the back in row L. Now it was just a matter of waiting. Aqua said it would be 20 minutes at best so that meant it would likely take longer. I needed something to do until she came back out. I already texted her and told her I was parked in the L row. I was looking through my truck for something to pass the time. I found an old wooden box lying under my seat and pulled it out to see what it was.

Well if im gonna be waiting for a while, I should have plenty of time to enjoy one of these

The age for alcohol and tobacco consumption was 18 and seeing as how I just turned 20 last week and I now had a box of cigars in my hands, and just so happened to have a lighter with me, I could hot box until aqua came back. I decided to pull out my phone and turn the radio back on since I liked to have some good music to listen to while I’m enjoying a stogie. I opened SoundCloud and selected my favorite playlist and hit shuffle. I opened up the box as the first song started playing and pulled out a fresh and untouched cigar still wrapped in plastic. I pulled out my lighter after taking it out of the plastic and lit up the 8 inch stick of goodness and took a nice long drag on it.

Aqua POV

I’m going to have to go through multiple levels of security screening to reach the commanders office on the top floor. This defcon system was helping to reduce security issues for the moment but it was also making things take longer than they needed to. I’m only on the first floor and the elevators are out of order right now for maintenance so I’m gonna have to go through screening again once I get upstairs to the top floor. I would have to go through metal detectors, have my ID looked at, have my background checked, and answer some security questions once I got upstairs. One of my friends though, who worked as an assistant for the base commander, was waiting for me when I got up stairs. So I would at least get to see her again. We haven’t seen each other since this damn war started but we still talked all the time.

I was now out of the first stair well and arrived at the security checkpoint. I did everything the security officers asked of me as I showed my ID, stepped through the metal detector, got frisked, and answered their questions. I was free to proceed after they gave me back my ID. I kept walking and eventually found where I was supposed to be and saw a certain mare who I hadn’t talked face to face with in almost a year now. She quickly looked up from her computer as I walked over to her, beaming a wide smile.

“Aqua? Oh my gosh! How long has it been since I’ve seen you!? You look as great as you do in those photos of you and your colt friend that you emailed me!”

She was so happy to see me. She got up and ran up and hugged me almost immediately. We’ve known each other since pre school and have been best friends ever since pre school

“Hehehe, I’ve missed you to vapor. I haven’t seen you this happy since you got accepted into the Wonderbolts Academy and when you did actually make it onto the flight team with captain spitfire.”

Vapor was a bit of a shy mare but she was very caring and friendly and just overall a great pony to be around. We had each others backs all the way through our school years. She had gotten picked on a good bit in high school especially since she wanted to go into the Wonderbolts but I had her back since I wanted to go into the royal guard and had began my training when I was 17. She had got accepted into the Wonderbolts Academy the same month that I completed my training and got accepted into the guards. We still wear our respective insignias openly since the Wonderbolts was technically an elite branch of the Air Force because that’s where the best fliers In the equestrian military went and we want ponies to know who we represent. They were respectively placed on our uniforms where a branch flag was placed. We were allowed to wear the bands that were given to us by our special somepony. She didn’t have a colt friend yet as she wasn’t wearing a band on her foreleg. I had to have a band made with Dakota’s initials and something that represents him for who he is with his would be cutiemark being a silhouetted human soldier standing at attention as three missiles were launched from behind him.

“I almost forgot what you were here for. Here, I’ll buzz the lieutenant real quick and get him out here for you so you can get this thing started.” Vapor walked back over to her desk and pressed a button on her intercom.

“Sir, Sgt.Major lance and Lt.Colonel Rodriguez are here to see you about the meeting they requested with you.” There was a short pause before we had gotten a response.

“Ok. I’ll be right out. I just need a minute to finish something.” The commander came out of his office a moment later. We both snapped to attention as he came out.

“At ease ladies. Sergeant, where is the lieutenant if I might ask?”

“He is waiting in the parking lot for us sir. He said he’s ready to begin when you are.

”Alrighty then. Corporal vapor, I’d like for you to come with us for this meeting and help fill in anything I may have forgotten to mention during this meeting.”

With the introductions and reunions out of the way, we all started to walk back downstairs and out of the building apparently the commander vapor was working with, lieutenant whiplash, knew a lot about her past and was interested in hearing about all the things we did together from my perspective. Thankfully we didn’t have to stop at the checkpoints on the way out. There were sensors that could detect and disable changeling, shadow, and dark magic in an instant that were present just about everywhere on each military installation.

Sergeant lance, where exactly is your lieutenant parked at? I never asked that question before we got here.

He’s parked towards the back of row L sir. I’ll know when I see him.

We were out of the building now and walking through the parking lot. The cool breeze blowing across my face and sound of the waves crashing against the docks and ships was a great experience. Reminds me of when all 3 of us went to the beach for our 1 year anniversary. Dakota had forgotten about sunscreen and ended up getting a pretty bad sun burn All across his back. He was redder than a tomato but he still found a way to make us all laugh even if he hard time moving for a few days afterwards. Even though a monster storm was on the way and the sky was getting darker each hour, this still felt nice.

We were now in row L and I could see his truck now but I couldn’t see through the windshield for some reason. It was so foggy in there, I could hear music so it’s clear he trying to do something either interesting or stupid to pass the time.

Just as we reached him, the drivers side window rolled down as loads of white smoke started pouring out of the truck and something came flying out of the truck as well. I picked up whatever it was and it said “toro grande”.

“Oh for the love of celestia, I thought I told him to cut back on the cigars. He’s gonna end up Making himself really sick if he doesn’t stop.”

you did tell me to cut back and I did. All this smoke, produced from that one cigar.

Dakota finished that sentence by coughing a good bit and opening up the door all the way as the smoke now bellowed our from the truck.

Lieutenant Rodriguez.

Lieutenant whiplash.

They simply greeted each other by saluting one another before proceeding.

I understand that you called a meeting with me today to discuss what we can both do to improve equestrias fleet, sir.

That is correct. Before I decide though, I’d like to see what ships equestria currently has at her disposal and what the repair yards and storage facilities are like so I can decide whether those need work or not.

Understood sir. Please, allow me to show you around the Manehattan naval base.

Just like that, they wrapped up their formalities as We all climbed in and started to drive.

Dakota POV

I’ve met with lieutenant whiplash and now he was going to show me around Manehattans naval yard. He said the first stop would be indoor docks where most of the ships that weren’t currently out at sea were being kept for maintenance. If that’s the case, equestria could technically have a much larger navy than I thought.

We came up to an extremely large hanger shaped building and stopped at a set of large garage doors. It looked like it was activated by a keycard scanner so I quickly scanned my card and got us inside. Heading in, I saw a large amount of corvettes, frigates, and small torpedo gunboats just sitting in the water. There was a pair of what looked like L class destroyers moored against a back wall. However, these destroyers were probably better than a regular L class back home used in the late 19th and early 20th century as they had the same quick firing 90MM main guns along with an anti air gun mounted in an elevated position between 2 smoke stacks and was manually operated, but the armor seemed thicker as well by maybe 6 inches.

”You said most of equestrias ships were currently out at sea right now, right lieutenant?”

”yes lieutenant. Why do you ask?”

”When’s the next ship supposed to be coming back?”

”One of our heavy cruisers, the EQS sunspot, is currently on her way back to port for repairs and crew replacement. She had a close encounter with some depth charges off the coast of the crystal empire while on patrol. Reports from the captain of that vessel say that she suffered a hull breach above the water line from shrapnel and 30 crew members were injured and at least 1 crew member is dead. She should be here in less than an hour.”

I haven’t seen much of equestrias fleet but I think it’s safe to say that the new ships I planned on bringing here will be a real game changer.

”The repair yard has already been notified and medical teams are on standby for when she docks. But for now, let’s move on. I want to show you some of these ships up close and personal.”

”then let’s do it. I’d like to start with one of those capital ships outside if that’s fine, sir.

”of course, the back bone of the navy is always a good place to start sir. The EQS eclipse and EQS pulsar have seen their fair share of skirmishes, but have always come out victorious.

”Well then, I think I’d like to see the pulsar first then, sir.”

2 hours later

We had just gotten off the EQS pulsar and given the fact that it’s a dreadnought, she definitely could still hold her own in a fight. I had forgotten that aqua and her friend were with us on the ship as well because while we we’re making our way up to the bridge, I had forgotten about the small door ways and smacked right into the frame of one and fell backwards onto her friend and had given myself a nose bleed.

The heavy cruiser that lieutenant whiplash had told us that was on its way back he arrived and was already being worked on. Seriously, equestrians probably work even harder, faster, and better than the Germans do.

We had just gotten off of one the destroyers in the dock building or whatever it’s called, and now we were going to look at one of the frigates and then a corvette. The frigates and corvettes were probably the most modern ships equestria had to offer but they weren’t without some issues that their counterparts on earth had. For the most part they were still in good condition and pretty fast but there was a pretty big issue. None of the frigates has the anti air weaponry to defend itself from air attacks or attacking smaller vessels. I had already checked out the repair yard and refueling area along with ammo storage. I was ready to give my decision once I was done.

We had just gotten off of a corvette and it was now around 9:00PM.

Lieutenant whiplash, equestrias current fleet, although seeming somewhat small, has promising potential but it needs a serious overhaul. I’ve decided that ships from earth will be brought to the equestrian seas and help fight against Sombra. The current ships here will remain in service but will need to undergo some upgrading before ready to set sail and sink some, if any of Sombra’s ships if he has any.

Are you sure sir? I’ve commanded this fleet for over 20 years and we haven’t lost a single vessel to an enemy fleet. The mares and stallions under my command would need to undergo an intense retra

im sure about it sir. Don’t take it as something wrong with the fleet, just think of it as a suggestion from one O-5 to another O-5. Trust me, American navy ships are packed with so much fire power and are so much bigger that some of them are pretty much miniature cities.

Although somewhat reluctant, whiplash just let it happen as equestrias navy was going to be getting some real ships now. I would text celestia once me and aqua got a hotel for the night and let her know that we will be bringing numerous ships to equestria and be doing it either Sunday or Monday since celestia was currently away on some diplomatic business with the Minotaurs trying to negotiate terms for troop deployment and resources.

After leaving the naval yard, I started driving around while aqua was scrolling through her phone, trying to find a good hotel for the night that’s not too far away. Manehattan had a pretty good night life going for it. Ponies were still out and about, bars were packed full of ponies wanting to get wasted and watch some sports, there were lines outside of movie theaters, and bright, big jumbo screens decorated the buildings and were constantly playing advertisements, news, or weather. Most of the news on was revolving around the ongoing war right now but there were still stations covering what was going on here In Equestria.

Aqua had found us a hotel close to time square called the marionette inn and suites that had a 4.7 star review and would allow us to get a room even if we didn’t have a reservation. It was about 300 bits per night but I could afford to pay that for the next few days. Aqua set the GPS and I got us on our way. It was only about 1.2 miles away so I wouldn’t have to go far. Traffic had picked up somewhat as rush hour had ended long ago and we could move through the city at 40MPH right now.

I was pulling up to the hotel now and it was huge. There seemed to be a valet service out front which was good because I did not want to try and park a dually in a parking garage. That was already hard enough back home. I pulled into a little parallel parking spot out front and shut off my truck as we both got out and walked inside the hotel. It was pretty impressive to say the least.

Marble floors, pillars, and walls were common here along with a grand staircase that went up a floor and led to what looks like a pool and a gym area. The breakfast area was massive. There were multiple tables and what looked like a set of doors that led in and out of a kitchen area where guests could order special breakfast items. Over by a set of elevators was a set of vending machines and an ice machine. There was a sign above them that pointed to a laundry area down the hallway. There was a pretty big fountain in the courtyard like area that had lights in it that were on at the moment. balcony’s wrapped around for each floor and looked down into the courtyard like area of a first floor and were all connected up as one and went all the way up to the top floor and ended with a huge sky light at the top. TV’s were mounted on the walls and 2nd floor balcony advertising the hotels services, things to do in the area, the news, weather, and travel delays. Even from down here, I could see individual room number plates on the walls next to each room window. This place was almost identical to the embassy suites hotel back in America in Baltimore, real classy and affordable.

A receptionist came to greet us as we were waiting for one to show up now. We had already gotten a room straight away and we also got an active military discount for 40 percent off our stay for the next few days.

We got our room key and we would be staying on the 21st floor, room 2123. We went back outside real quick to get whatever we needed out of my truck such as my laptop, wallet, phone, some spare clothes and even my cigars. Aqua already had gotten her stuff and walked back inside. I reached into the tool box and pulled out two black under armor duffel bags contains some fresh clothes and something I could use to pass the time before I shut the door and gave the pony at the valet desk my lanyard with my keys. Apparently your keys would also be brought to your room after your vehicle was parked so that was pretty neat, all I had to do was tell her my room number and somepony would bring them to you. I wouldn’t have to talk to a receptionist and wait 10 minutes for them to look through a box of them just to find mine if I wanted to go somewhere.

I walked back in and over to the elevators which there was a convenient set of them right by the entrance. There was already one here on ground level so we wouldn’t have to wait for one to come down. We both stepped inside and selected our floor. The doors closed and the elevator started its way up. It was one of those elevators that you could see out of kind of like in a shopping mall, but this elevator was a lot faster.

Woah, holy cow

This was way quicker than a mall elevator. It’s only been 5 seconds and already we had just passed the 11th floor. It was already clear that this was an express elevator because after 10 seconds, we arrived on our floor. We got out of the elevator and started walking along the balcony to our room, passing vending machines, signs, TVs, windows, and other rooms. Rooms that were available usually had the blinds opened while ones with Ponies in them usually had the blinds on curtains closed or there was a light on inside with the tv inside turned on.

This is us, 2123

Aqua said as I almost walked past it since I wasnt paying attention. What I hadn’t noticed until now is that each room also had a little mail drop bin attached to the door kind of like an inbox attached to classroom doors at my old school and our box had a little package envelope sitting in it which I assumed could only be my keys and grabbed the envelope and put it under my shoulder as I reached into my pocket and pulled out the key card needed to unlock the door. I swiped the card in it’s slot and watched as a red light on the card reader turned green and I heard the tumblers moving as the door was unlocked.

Upon Walking inside, we both got blasted by the extremely cold hotel air conditioning. It was good for when I was sleeping, but not when I was still wide awake, and to add onto it, it was blowing full blast right in our faces as well. I had to squint my eyes and cover my face because hotel air conditioning is so powerful that it could probably cool down an overheated car engine in just 2 minutes. I quickly rushed over to the AC unit and shut it off as fast as I could and opened up the window right above it. I could still hear the one in the bedroom going as well so it was gonna be ice cold in there as well, but it’s a good thing I have a hoodie in my bag.

I set my stuff down and opened the bedroom door and shut off the AC before I walked back out into the main area. A nearby clock said that it was almost 9:30PM and I didn’t feel like going back out to find someplace to eat and it was easy to tell that we were both thinking the same thing to get for dinner.

“Pizza?” We both said at the exact same time.

Due to the alliances going on at the moment, Diamond dogs, griffons, Minotaurs, and equestrians were all living in unison in parts of equestria, which also meant that more food options became available, and my favorite, meat. Because a lot of griffons were now residing in Manehattan, meat became common, which meant I could enjoy my favorite pizza toppings such as pepperoni, ham, and sausage. I reached into my computer bag to pull out my laptop and begin the ordering process. I let aqua create her pizza first while I went into the bathroom.

I started to have a horrible migraine and started having tunnel vision as well and felt really heavy again. This started out as just some soreness and and minor headaches and dizziness but it’s gotten worse now and I already found out why on my own.

Because equestria is so packed full of magic, I was constantly absorbing it into my body without a way to naturally expel it. I had learned how to harness and cast it and taught my friends how to do it for their health as well, but use of magic is prohibited in most hotels across equestria due hotel owners to not wanting to pay lots of money for repairs if a unicorns spell went wrong and took out half of the whole building. I hadn’t used any of the magic I absorbed in almost 2 weeks now and I’m regretting it. If I can make it to Sunday or Monday, I’ll be able to cast the spell needed to bring the giant warships into equestria and I’ll almost completely drain myself of all the magic in my body. Ive been passively absorbing magic ever since I first arrived in equestria and I first started having these problems nearly 6 weeks after first arriving in equestria.

The amount of magic in anything living is measured in a unit Usually only used for measuring electricity, Amps. The average unicorn had a normal magic buildup of and threshold of 2750.56 Amps, while Alicorns had a MUCH higher threshold of 9890.67 Amps. I had a little device that I could put on my finger and it would measure my vitals such as blood pressure, heart rate, and of course, how much magic was in my body. I was currently sitting at a buildup of around 7995.82 amps and that number was still rising but it was going up pretty slowly but the magic was also still indirectly attacking my system in an attempt to escape. I had an extremely high capacitance for some reason so I was pretty much a living capacitor for this stuff, waiting to be discharged, and it was getting to be really painful. I had found out though if I exceeded 10000 amps, I would literally explode from the buildup reaching its breaking point, kind of like a pressure cooker not venting off its pressure and blowing up on the stove. That wouldn’t be good. I’m just out in public, or next to tia, aqua or my friends, and I’m just lying on the ground Writhing in pain, unable to do anything, and next thing you know, Boom! Blood, limbs, and guts go flying everywhere from the buildup reaching its breaking point, covering everything and everyone nearby in a bright red mist as bones became projectiles, moving fast enough to pierce through someone.

My legs had almost completely given out but everything stopped after a few seconds, but not before I coughed up a small bit of blood. I just washed it off before walking back out into the main room. Aqua had just finished up her order and now I started putting my order in. Double pepperoni, bacon, and ham with a thick garlic seasoned crust and extra sauce with a side of extra bread sticks and extra mozzarella sticks with marinara sauce was always the best combo I got back home. I would occasionally just go all out and also order order another pizza, salad, sub sandwich, fries, wings, and a couple of 2L sodas from places like dominos on nights when I was binge watching a movie series such as godzilla and mission impossible. What I would I give to have that back.

I finalized our order and put it through now. It was saying it would be a 40 minute wait time before our food got here. I still had yet to transfer my money on my credit card to an equestrian credit card believe it or not. I was still able to use dollars here and there since they pretty much were the same as bits but still a bit more valuable than bits as well.

We would either have to order more food later on tonight or try and finds supermarkets because a large hurricane, almost as powerful as sandy, was slowly approaching new hope city and we wouldn’t be able to do anything for the next couple of days since the hurricane was supposed to make landfall early in the morning around 4AM when we were still sleeping and more than 8 inches of rain is expected. This explains half the reason why so many ponies were trying to leave Manehattan for the weekend. A voluntary evacuation order was currently in place as well so things were getting serious. The hurricane was recently named Zala as well so it could be recorded better.

The storm was still more than 500 miles off the coast but it was moving at 30 MPH right now and expected to slowdown drastically once it’s closer than 150 miles away and could end up being almost stationary due to so many atmospheric instabilities right now that could push, pull, speed up, or slow down the giant storm. It’s currently a category 4 storm but it was still intensifying as well and could reach category 5 strength when it hits. We should be fine though since the hotel has a set of backup emergency generators ready to kick on in the event the power gets knocked out so we wouldn’t be in the dark. Even from here in our room, I could see cargo ships leaving port now as well as some naval ships returning to be docked in the yard to avoid capsizing since 20 foot waves have been reported inside the storm by observation planes and buoys. For the ships returning and leaving. It was up to the captains on the vessels to decide wether or not to remain out at sea or dock in the nearest harbor and wait it out. The wind had been slowly picking up over the past few hours and it was getting to be a bit gusty as well.

A Hurricane watch along with some high wind warnings and special marine warnings were in place for the next few days until the storm passed or dissipated, but because the hotel was 150 feet above sea level we wouldn’t have to worry about the sea flooding the hotel and Manehattan had a good amount of protective measures against flooding, storm surges, and High wind gusts. Most of the skyscrapers were built to withstand extreme wind gusts and powerful earthquakes, a lot like the buildings in places like Hong Kong, Tokyo, and shanghai, and our hotel was one of the buildings that was built to be resistant to those types of things.

After placing our order, I decided to see what else was in our hotel. We had a secondary bedroom off to the left after we walked in next to the bathroom. There was a fully open kitchen off to the left after we walked in and it came with an assorted set of pots and pans sitting in the cabinets and utensils along with bowls and plates and a sizeable refrigerator along with a gas stove, sink, and dishwasher, all facing into the living room so you could watch whatever you wanted on the 50 inch smart TV mounted on the wall above a gas fire place that could be controlled by an intensity and timer switch on the wall. There was a couch along with a love seat and dark oak coffee table in the living room with a TV guide, phone book, TV remote, note pad and pen on both sides of the couch and love seat were some side tables that had outlets attached to them and plugged into some floor outlets with lamps sitting on them. On the table closest to the master bedroom door sat one of the hotel rooms phones. There was a phone in each room for If we wanted room service. The floor was a mix of nice carpet in the living room and both bedrooms while the kitchen and bathroom were a cold marble tile.

Going back into the master bedroom, there was a large king size bed with at least 10 pillows on it. Looking over to the right of the bed, the window was still open and it felt nice. There was a closet with a safe in it to the left of the bed. A large oak wood dresser was present right in the middle of the doors back out into the living room and the master bedrooms bathroom. A 40 inch flatscreen TV sat on top of the dresser along with a pair of lamps and a cable box. Going into the other bedroom, it was the same layout as the master bedroom except there was no bathroom in here and it was a queen size bed instead of king size.

I walked back out into the living room and turned on the TV to see if anything was on at the moment. The weather channel was on right now and keeping up with where the hurricane was right now but was also talking about severe weather happening in other parts of the world. Right now over seas in the gryphon kingdom, a tornado outbreak was on going and already more than 200 griffons have died from the outbreak since a lot of the tornados were rated EF3 or higher and at least 1 EF5 was currently on the ground near griffonstone, interrupting the fighting between allied and shadow empire forces, temporarily putting on a ceasefire so that both sides could evacuate their dead and injured along with our side currently busy in getting civilians out of griffonstone that were still injured before the fighting resumed. Meanwhile in zebrica, severe droughts were affecting the nation and we were busy air dropping shipments of water and food to areas hit the hardest. In las Pegasus, winds were kicking up and the threat of a dust storm was starting to prompt ponies to stay indoors and to the east of there in what would be pony Arizona, the threat of wildfires breaking out in the more wooded areas was also growing because that area never sees any rain, and the low humidity and hot conditions were perfect.

Aqua had gone into the bathroom and as soon as she closed the door, my symptoms started again. The horrible migraines, tunnel vision, feeling heavy, blood coughing, and now ringing in the ears, back pain, foot pain, arm pains, and trouble breathing added onto the symptoms and reasons I needed to start discharging magic as soon as possible. This time my legs did give out and I collapsed in the middle of the living room and I couldn’t move much at all. I was spasming a bit on the ground now as well. I was really hoping it all would stop before aqua came back out. Unfortunately, my wish was ignored as I heard the toilet flush and heard her unlocking the door before she came back out and gasp as she stood there looking at me, not sure of what to do.

Oh my gosh! Dakota!? DAKOTA!? What happened to you!? Are you ok!?

She was really scared by seeing me like this since she quickly darted to my side and rolled me over onto my back and looked at me. I felt so bad about not telling either her or tia about this since I didn’t want to cause them undo panic and because I didn’t want to undergo numerous medical experiments. She was on the verge of crying since I could see the tears welling up in her big green eyes and threatening to fully spill over since some of them did fall and land on my face and one landed in my mouth. It was stopping again now and I slowly reached up to cup one of her cheeks in my hand. She was such a sensitive mare and I knew it absolutely pained and frightened her to see me like this, in a state of pain and suffering. Tears matted her soft blue as they started flowing freely now and her long silver mane now partially abscured her right eye, just like tia’s mane did. She got up and quickly tried to run to the phone to call for help, but I stopped her by grabbing one of her legs.

I’ll be...f fine. I’m suffering from a magic buildup in my body w...without a way for it naturally leave my body. I...if I can make it to Monday or wait for the eye of the hurricane to pass over..., I’ll be able almost completely deplete myself of this buildup. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you or tia sooner. I didn't want to cause either of you any undo panic, worrying about me when there’s more important stuff to focus on.

More important stuff? You’re the most important thing in both of our lives, in my life! I was so scared that you were about to die. Without you, not only does equestria lose its biggest influencer on the war effort, but we both lose the one closest to us, we both lose our special somepo...special someone. I don’t want to lose you this early in our relationship. I want to grow old with you and have a family of our own. If you continue to let this buildup happen, we’ll have to start planning a funeral for you, I don’t want that.

I felt like such a dipshit for not telling either of them about this but what’s done is done. I just sat up and quickly hugged her to try and calm her down and tried to talk to her as well which also seemed to work. She stopped crying and seems to have calmed down now, mostly forgetting about the fact that I could die. I got back up and grabbed the little device from earlier and put it on my finger again as it took a couple moments to read my stats until it finally came back. My buildup was only at 8023.43 amps right now but it was still climbing nonetheless.

I had told aqua about my buildup and what my symptoms were and how it affected me. I also told her about it affecting my friends and how I helped them out with it. What I hadn’t told her was when it all started originally when it was still just my first month In Equestria over 3 years ago, just 1 week after she confessed to me that she loved me in that hotel room even when I metaphorically had her at Gun point. Sure aqua might have been a crazy, love stricken guardsmare, but she was my crazy, love stricken guardsmare. I loved her and tia to death and would give my love for both of them, regardless of how cliche and corny it sounds.

As soon as I was done reading my amps, I heard a knock on our door. I quickly walked over to it and opened it up. Our pizza was finally here and I was fucking hungry. I quickly grabbed our food and tipped the guy 50 bits before quickly shutting the door and walking over to the kitchen counter and set the numerous boxes and bags down. We both decided to go all out and get the biggest pizzas we could order so we would have more slices and be able to have some left over because I’m sure the hotel isn’t gonna serve lunch or dinner so we would be on our own for the next few days. I set our food down on the coffee table and started flipping through the TV channels to see what was on. I had surprisingly come across a the pony versions of Chicago med, fire, and PD. I loved these shows back home, so they should still be good.

2 hours later

We were both now out at a grocery store, gathering up what we could before the hurricane arrived. Surprisingly enough, we had run into aquas friend, vapor trail, again at the store. She said she was trying to get as much food as she could and was gonna try and wait it out somewhere for the next few days until the hurricane passes since lieutenant whiplash ordered that everypony on base except for essential personnel such as security and maintenance was to leave and head more inland since the barracks there was close to the water and was at risk of being flooded by storm surges. I offered her to come stay with us since we had an extra bedroom in our hotel and I know her and aqua wanted to continue catching up. We were now checking out of the store with 3 full shopping carts which was yet again surprising because either most ponies already have what they need or they aren’t panic buyers like humans. We now had probably at least 2 weeks worth of food and essentials. I paid for everything and our final price came out to be 1890 bits. After paying for everything, we started pushing the carts outside and over towards my truck. The bed cap would keep our food dry for the most part. It was raining rather heavily now but most of the food was sealed in plastic and cans so we didn’t have to worry about much. We all got in the truck but as soon as I shut my door, my phone started going off.

A hurricane warning was now in effect. I quickly put my keys in the ignition and turned on the radio.

BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ Extremely dangerous and life threatening hurricane Zala now bearing down on the northeast coast of equestria. The National weather service office in Broncs, has issued a hurricane warning for the following major cities, new hope city, and baltimare. For the following surrounding areas, Crosby, gatorstown, Trent, flint, nipton, hiros, Little Rock, lamplight, Rockville, Honeywell, Winston, greenville, palmetto, Hartford, Howard, grainy, uptown, Waboba, la crosse, sharp, spencer, mechanicsville, prime, morison, steel river, husky, and Jacksonville until 3:30AM Monday. At 11:39PM eastern time, hurricane zala was reported by satellite imagery, buoys, and radar to be 150 miles off the coast as a category 5 hurricane, and is moving northeast at 2 MPH, and was nearly stationary. Sustained winds of 115 MPH with gusts up to 185 MPH have been reported. Storm surges can reach up 10 feet and will sweep away anything in their path. Severe flooding is likely to start within a couple of hours and areas as far inland as Cassio township can expect to receive up to two to three inches of rain within one hour.When this happens, make sure you are on a higher floor in a sturdy building. Stay away from windows. If you are outside, in a vehicle, or a mobile home, move to the closest substantial shelter as quickly as possible. Make sure you have a two weeks supply of non perishable food, bottled water, batteries, a flashlight, a battery powered or crank powered radio, first aid kit, cellphone with power bank, Blankets, and warm clothing. Repeating, hurricane Zala Is 150 miles away from making landfall, take the necessary precautions to protect life and property.
BZZZZZ BZZZZZ BZZZZZ

Oh my god. It’s actually happening.

I wasted no time in starting the engine and booking it back to the hotel. The city was desolate right now which would have made for some easy high speed driving and some Tokyo drifting if it wasn’t for the fact that some streets were blocked off and cars were abandoned in the middle of the road. We got back to the hotel and I went almost straight to the top of the parking garage. I stopped and parked one level below the top and we all got out. I opened the bed and there thankfully was a few of those suitcase carts nearby that we could use to get everything up to our room in one go. I brought three of them over and we loaded them up completely. It’s a good thing we bought fabric bags at the store instead of just opting for the plastic ones they usually give us because those would’ve torn. I shut the tailgate and locked my truck as we all made a mad dash for the hotel entrance. We made it inside just in time as a nasty gust blew through the garage and blew a lot of stuff over.

Woah, too close for comfort

I was just happy to be inside somewhere warm and dry now. We were on the 6th floor right now so we would just need to call the elevator and then walk to our room. The elevators were in the corners of the hallways so we had a bit of a walk ahead. I could hear the rain and wind hitting the building hard. I looked up at the giant skylight and could just see the rain running down it. It was like when your going through a car wash and your cars getting rinsed off. We didn’t have to worry about windows being blown out since bulletproof glass was used in windows built on outer walls with the glass being at least an inch and a half thick and layered. Every light in the hotel dimmed for a few seconds as a lightning bolt struck a lighting rod on the roof but the lights returned to normal. I had been slowly discharging some of the magic in my body for a while now but had to do it discreetly in the hotel now. I had been using the magic in my body ever since we left the hotel. It was interesting to try and drive without my hands on the wheel or my feet on the pedals Or my hand even on the shifter.

We were now back at our room and right as I swiped us in, the hotel manager decided to make an announcement.

“Mares and stallions, please excuse this interruption. As you know hurricane Zala will make landfall soon. We are compensating every pony here by making each night free for the rest of the time you’re here until Zala passes and we will be serving food all day everyday in the lobby until the hurricane passes as we know not many of you may have food in your rooms. Please keep all windows closed at all times unless told to open them by a staff member. In the event that the hotel starts to flood, empty rooms on floors 3 and up will be remotely unlocked for you to relocate to. Unless you have an emergency, most Doors leading outside will remain locked for your safety and everypony else’s. We will partially ease the restriction on magic use in the hotel to allow for small things to be done to help keep others safe. If you have any questions, please speak to a staff member. Please enjoy the rest of your night.

The guy on the PA did not seem phased by the storm one bit. He’s got balls of steel, I’ll give him that. All though only the outer rain bands were hitting us now, it felt like Zala already made landfall and the eye was getting ready to pass over us. We were putting away the food we bought when another lighting bolt struck the roof of the hotel and startled vapor trail as she jumped and dropped a bunch of cans on my foot while I wasn’t wearing any shoes.

Aaahhhh! My fucking toes! Owww that really hurt!

Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry! Are you ok!?

Yeah, I’ll be fine, they don’t feel broken and I can still feel and move them just fine, just hurts is all.

A can of beans dropped on your toes was never a pleasant experience, but things happen. I could see aqua giggling a little bit in the corner of my eye.

Oh quit giggling. If you had toes, I’d drop this can on yours. Still not as painful as accidentally stubbing them on a door or table leg.

That was easily something more painful than a can dropping on your toes. After getting everything put away and taken care of, I decided to change into some pajamas and hop into bed while aqua was showing vapor to the spare room she would be sleeping in for the next few days. I measured my vitajoules again before going to sleep and I was currently sitting at 7689.27 Amps right now. I had used a good bit of magic earlier but not enough it would likely seem. My symptoms would worsen a lot more tomorrow, if I don’t die in my sleep from the buildup.

I switched the AC back on and set it to 64 degrees on full blast before moving a couple of the excessive amounts of pillows and crawling under the blankets and closing my eyes. I was out like a light within minutes.

10 hours later

I had woken up now to a shit ton of pain. I checked my amps before I even got out of bed and to my utter dismay, shock, and slight fear, I was getting into the red zone at 8509.08 amps now. I couldn’t feel my legs and all I could do was groan in pain. I tried to roll off the bed and into the living room but I could only roll of the bed and hit the floor and I could barely move. I knew death would claim me if I didn’t do something fast.

Aqua, vapor, somepony, anypony! Help me! I don’t want to die in a hotel bedroom!

I was just barely above conversation levels of volume. To my relief, I heard a pair of hoof steps approaching the door way over the heavy wind and rain outside somehow. The door opened and aqua rushed in to help me.

Oh my gosh! Vapor, come here, I need your help! Dakota, how bad is the buildup!? Can you walk!?

8509.08, I have no idea how I built up almost 900 amps in my sleep in less than 10 hours.

Vapor rushed in almost as quickly as aqua and got on my left side real quick. She had the same look of worry on her face, but for clearly different reasons.

Get me to the naval yard as fast as you both possibly can. I’m going to discharge every last bit of magic in my body as I can. Take my truck, it’s too dangerous to fly through the hurricane right now, especially with these winds. One of you inform commander whiplash, let him know that we’re coming and that’s an emergency and the gates need to be open to allow entry for us.

I was somehow able to say everything in a tired sounding tone. I was fighting to not pass out right now and it was getting really difficult to stay awake. Almost immediately, both mares helped me up as I was placed on vapors back while aqua grabbed my keys and my phone for me. They ran out of the hotel room at lighting speed as I was now being held as vapor flew down from the 21st floor to the 5th where the parking garage access was. A staff member there saw us and unlocked the door for us. In less than two minutes, we were already in my truck as aqua fired her up and took off for the naval yard.

Aqua POV

Never have I acted on something so fast as I have now. Dakota was practically on the verge of death right now from his magic buildup starting to reach a critical point. I was now having to drive his new truck for the first time and I was not familiar with a manual transmission, much less one with 10 gears and high-low ranges. We weren’t even out of the parking garage yet and the strong winds were making this all the more difficult by blowing us around.

Pay attention to the RPMs when shifting, wait until you reach 800 rpms when you go to down shift, and 2500 rpms when you go to upshift. Change ranges when you’re in 4th gear low. You can shift without using the clutch in the higher gears when you find out what you’re doing

Even though dakota’s exhausted voice made me worried for him, he still helped me to get him to the Naval yard faster.

Thanks babe, but please, save your strength. We’ll be there soon. You’ll be alright.

Thank you sir. We’ll see you in a few minutes sir. Aqua, commander whiplash has the gates opened for us but only for the next 10 minutes. If we’re not there within that time frame, we’ll be own to help your colt friend

Thanks vapor, I’ll pay you back for this when this is all over.

The wind blowing left and right moved the truck left and right nearly hitting the sidewalks. I could faintly see what looked like the outline of a ship in the distance but it was too hard to see from here with it currently raining sideways and the windows being covered in rain water. We might not make it in time because in addition to the wind blowing us around, the heavy rain making it hard to see, and the wet roads, many ponies had just out right abandoned their cars in the middle of the roads, doors still open, sitting at intersections and everything. It was a challenge in itself to get around them as quick as possible. I could see what looked like a turn that led onto a small bridge a few intersections up ahead. That was it, we’re gonna make it to the base I could already see the EQS pulsar from here and I could now see the bow of the EQS eclipse coming into view now.

just hold on a little longer Dakota, we’re coming up to the yard now!

He was so packed full of residual magic that parts of him were glowing faintly. If he didn’t act as soon as he got out, he’d most likely die, and that’s what I’m most worried about. We’d been together now for three years which doesn’t seem like a long time it felt long to me. Through the good times and bad times and even the prank wars, I wouldn’t trade him for any other male in equestria ever. He was perfect for me. I wanted to Mary him and settle down somewhere quite when this war was finally over.

I stopped the truck and set the brakes as another wind gust blew and rattled the truck. I got out as vapor helped me to get Dakota out of the truck. The magic radiating from his body was so powerful that I could feel it flowing through my body and back into his. We were carrying him closer to the water like he told us to when suddenly, a huge lighting bolt struck a crane close to us and caused it to begin falling backwards towards us. We both tried to jump out of the way but we only barely made it because we had to throw Dakota. I was knocked down and vapor got pinned under something that came off the crane that also knocked her unconscious. I tried to get up and help her, but something stopped me from doing so, something painful. I felt a tugging feeling in my left rear leg and was horrified by what was there.

A piece of metal had stabbed right through my left rear leg but it didn’t feel like it went through through bone but was still keeping me anchored to the ground and a wire was also keeping me from even moving around slightly. I was already starting to feel the adrenaline wear off as the pain got worse and worse and my vision started to fade to black. I could see Dakota standing up now as he started to do something that I could only see in glimpses through my fading consciousness. He was channeling every last bit of magic he had into one giant spell. He was now floating right in front of me as both of his hands were out like a cross and glowing with a bright green color that radiated across his entire body. I could see what looked like a ship starting to appear above the water. It was absolutely huge. Even bigger than the Eclipse and pulsar. It had bigger and more guns, a taller super structure, and the number 63 painted on the front. The magic field around the ship vanished as it now dropped 50 feet into the water and caused the entire ground to shake for a full 10 seconds.

Moments later, a second, even bigger ship started to appear above the water. It had a fourth turret with guns in it as well and seemed to be longer than the last ship as well. This one though had a 67 painted on it instead. The second ship dropped into the water and caused a more violent shaking that lasted longer as well. Before I fully blacked out from blood loss, I noticed that the wind and rain had almost completely stopped. The last thing i saw was Dakota slowly trying to limp his way over to us. And the last thing I heard was him trying to call for help followed by 3 gunshots before total silence took hold.

Dakota POV
5 minutes earlier

I was barely conscious when I felt the truck stop and heard 2 doors open followed by mine a few seconds later. I soon felt 2 pairs of hooves grab me and get me out of my truck as I was exposed to the high winds. I could barely see, and I could barely hear right now. I did see though, a large bolt of lighting impact a loading crane close to us as it took out one of the legs on it and started to fall. I soon felt both mares throw me as far as they could to try and get away from the crane. I saw the extent of the damage and saw that they were both pinned under the remains of said crane. I needed to act now. I slowly stood up and started to funnel all of the magic into my hands as they started glowing a bright and intense lime green. I even felt myself start to lift up off the ground.

I focused as hard as I could and started to duplicate the first ship. I focused hard on it, every AA gun, every main battery, every entrance, I needed to get this down to the dot with accuracy. Soon, the ship started to appear in front of me. It grew more and more opaque as it appeared and then, when I was ready, dropped it into the water. Equestria now had the USS Missouri in its fleet. Now for the Montana. Even though the ship was only a prototype and never actually built, I played enough world of warships and saw enough pictures and documentaries to know exactly what it looked like and what it’s supposed to have. The Montana was now starting to appear in front of me. The rain and wind were slowing down as well which made this easier for me. I got everything down and dropped it into the water as well. The USS Montana was now also apart of the equestrian royal fleet. I stopped channeling as I now felt really weak. That little device that I always had with me to keep my levels in check was now reading just 20.3 amps of magic in my body after that. Death averted. I forgot about aqua and vapor as I quickly turned back to them and rushed over to try and help them.

Aqua, aqua! Vapor! Vapor!

I weakly shouted as I sort of limp ran towards them. There was nothing I could do for them, especially aqua in this state once I got a good look at her leg. A metal rod stabbed right through and she was slowly bleeding out. I looked around and saw some base security ponies looking around, surveying the damages so far. I tried calling out to them but I was to weak and was about to pass out as well. I resorted to doing something stupid to try and get their attention. Right before I faded out, I pulled out my trusty FN five seven and fired a few rounds into the air to try and get their attention before I collapsed next to both mares and finally blacked out. The last thing I saw before total darkness and total silence was them looking in our direction before booting over to us at lightning fast speed.

19 hours later

I wasn’t even awake and I already felt extremely cold air just bombarding me as my face felt ice cold while the rest of my body was somewhat warm. I slowly cracked my eyes open to see that I was yet again in a hospital bed, but this time, I wasn’t blinded by extremely harsh fluorescent bulbs shining down right on my face. The lights were actually off for some reason. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not gonna complain about because hospital lighting was either not bright enough or too bright, there was no in between.

I sat up to see that I was in some sort of emergency room, uh, room and not a military infirmary. The door was closed and the curtains were drawn as well. I was surprised to see that my clothes were still on and I wasn’t in a hospital gown for some reason, unlike the other times I was in a hospital. My camouflage pants were still on and my shirt and coat were sitting on a nearby shelf along with my boots on the floor next to said shelf. Even though I almost died, I somehow was able to change into a spare uniform I had in my truck during a hurricane. I made to get up and put my clothes on but forgot that I was hooked up to an array of machines. One by one, I slowly started to unhook myself from them. I started by pulling an IV out of arm then proceeded to remove a blood pressure arm pad thing from my other arm and then went to remove a breathing device. The last thing I made to unhook myself from was a heartbeat monitor. I knew that as soon as something like this was unhooked from my body, doctors and nurses would be rushing into my room to try and stop me from leaving. I learned that first hand when I originally landed in Equestria 3 years ago, and a lot has changed since then.

3 years ago, when I was still a somewhat blissfully ignorant 17 year old, equestria was essentially still in the medieval ages, now look at her. She resembled something of modern day America. I know down to the little details because whenever I visit my family in my dreams, I always ask what’s been happening ever since my disappearance. Currently a global health crisis was affecting earth so everyone was having to stay at home. Back to the similarity’s between earth and Equis, 3 years ago, it would have taken at least 1 week to to get from equestria to the former crystal empire by train since the old steam engines in use weren’t very fast. Now, that distance could be covered in a matter of hours by taking an airplane and just 3 days at most if you went by rail since bigger steam engines along with their diesel counterparts now roamed the railways of equestria. I was going to have to take a trip to the griffon empire to try and broker a permanent peace deal soon with the current queen of their empire. I couldn’t go by air since Sombra was modernizing so fast that he could possibly already have supersonic fighter jets, so I was going by ground, on my new private train. When I said equestria modernized fast, I meant it.

My personal train was powered by either FOURTEEN EMD DDA40X diesel engines, 6 Union Pacific type 4-8-8-4 big boy steam engines, or 4 3rd gen Union Pacific gas turbine enignes. 7 pulling and 7 pushing, 3 pushing and 3 pulling, or 2 pushing and 2 pulling. The 14 diesel locomotives gave the train all together a maximum of 92,400 horsepower which could allow us to reach speeds of up to 90MPH in under two minutes while I had estimated the steam engines gave about 56,000 horsepower all together. Occasionally all the engines would be run together for very long trips since there currently was only a set of diesel fuel towers every 75 miles while there were coal hoppers and water towers every 20 miles along each track, making the steam engines more reliable and giving a combined power output of 182,400 horsepower. The turbines had their engines modified to run on most liquid fuel types such as diesel, kerosene, gasoline and other types of fuel since the bunker C fuel oil originally used was a bit of a pain in the ass to manufacture and use just for a few turbine engines.
The reason for having that many engines is because wherever I go with that train, a whole battalion of carefully picked soldiers is accompanying me as well and each coach and car connected to my train was armored up as well. Glass was an inch thick while armor panels were up to 3 inches thick and there was usually anywhere between 70 and 300 cars connected up since when I was not using it, each locomotive was in freight service until I needed them and they were given two weeks in advance to head to a specific rail yard and were prepped for me. Not to mention that the ponies operating my train also had to protect me in case I came under attack, 8 cars loaded with small but extremely fast multi-role surface to air and surface to surface missiles were attached and ready to fire at a moments notice. If things got bad, railway artillery would be useful. Four modified carts carried hidden artillery guns that have the roofs and parts of the sides fold down to reveal the large caliber guns could hit targets up to 5 miles away, but I'll get to more on that later. Anyways, back to the present.

I disconnected the heartbeat monitor and got up and put the other half of my uniform on and made to leave but I felt like I was forgetting something, but couldn’t quite figure it out, I felt around in my pockets and I still had my keys, wallet, and phone with me, I also still had my pistol. Whatever it was, it probably wasn’t important. I pulled the curtains back and opened the door and looked around. The nurses station was currently occupied by just one nurse who wasn’t even awake right now and didn’t know that an alarm on her computer was going off because I just disconnected every machine I was hooked up to. I knew the night shift was a hard job but I’m guessing a shift change would happen in an hour then she would be able to go home, or somepony would come to relieve her soon.

I had to keep quite while moving around to avoid waking her up. I needed to try and find aqua and vapor, wherever they may be in this hospital. I was peeking in the other rooms to see if they were in them. Trying to sneak around while wearing heavy boots wasn’t something that could be easily done and I was tempted to take them off and carry them around until I was out of here but at the same time, I didn’t want to slip and bust my my ass if I was running and rounded a corner too fast. I was looking around and wasn’t quite looking in front of me since I had bumped into a trash can in front of me which made a good bit of noise. Somehow I didn’t wake up the nurse at the nurses station and carried on trying to find the mares I was with.

I peeked inside the last room before the hallway and found vapor trail. It looks like she had the same idea as me to try and stealthily get out of the hospital as quick and quietly as possible. She was unhooking herself from the many machines that were the same as the ones that I was hooked up to.

Pssst, hey, vapor. You alright?
I had to keep to a whisper because I knew that nurse behind me could wake up at anytime

I’m fine, just a few scratches. Nothing like that’s ever stopped me.

Alright, look, we gotta find aqua and get out of here as quick as we can.

She’s not here. When I first woke up a few hours ago, I heard some doctors saying that she was still at Manehattan naval yards infirmary. We were transferred to Manehattan central because they are at capacity and wouldn’t have anywhere to put us.

Well, looks like it’s just us then. We need to get out of here and get back over there if we can

She was about to unhook herself from the last machine which I didn’t see was also a heartbeat moniter. When that got unplugged, we were treated to a very unwelcome surprise.

Code blue, Code blue in ICU’s 8 and 14. Code blue, repeat, code blue.

Oh you gotta be fucking kidding me right now.

I knew something like this would happen but I still wasn’t prepared for it. I quickly looked back at the nurses station and saw that the nurse there was now awake and looking straight at us.

Hey! What are you...

I acted upon instinct and reached for the nearest thing I could which happened to be a big binder filled with a bunch of papers someone left in here and threw at her as hard as I could and watched it hit her in the face. I quickly ran up to her while she was stunned and knocked her back out with a hard superman punch. I really did not want to have to do that but I had no other option. I quickly ran to the door where ponies were brought in from ambulances and tried them but they were locked. There was a two radio on the desk at the nurses station that I grabbed real quick which would come in handy for when we needed to know what’s going on throughout the hospital.

Shit! We gotta find another way out of here. Come on, follow me vapor!

She quickly got up behind me as we were running down the hallway and I could hear a bunch of nurses and doctors coming as well from around the corner. What really concerned me though was the fact that it took the two of us getting up and out before a code blue was called. Either this hospitals system is extremely outdated and slow or just Outright broken.

Over here! We can hide in this maintenance closet until they pass and then sneak past them!

Good idea! They don’t know we’re out of the ICU and they won’t know where we are either when they get there. Let’s try and get it open!

I grabbed the door handle and tried to open it but the door wouldn’t open. It was unlocked but it felt like something was blocking the way. I told vapor to hold the door knob while I kicked it in and it worked. We both quickly dove inside the closet and locked the door behind us just as that large group of doctors and nurses rounded the corner. We waited almost a full minute before we tried to leave the room, but that’s when we realized we waited too long. I heard a security member on the radio start giving orders.

We’ve got two missing patients. Lockdown the entire west wing of the hospital. I want at least 4 ponies monitoring the cameras at all times until they’re found. Use extreme caution, the two missing patients are active military and have some extensive hoof to hoof combat training and could be dangerous. Keep your distance if you see them and assume that they’re armed. I’m shutting down the code blue alarm and activating two code yellows. Magic suppression field is going up now. Radio in soon as you find them.

The pony on the radio had effectively just trapped us in here.

Just our luck. They apparently don’t think we’re competent enough to leave the hospital either. Here, help me re-block the door in case they try to get in.

Vapor got up to help me try and move a pair of cleaning carts back in front of the door way when I heard some pony outside. I quickly stopped and put my hand over Vapors mouth and made a gesture to tell her to keep quite. I got down on my stomach and attempted to see under the door and sure enough, there was a security guard there. I quickly reached for the radio I had stolen and turned the volume on it all the way down. The pony outside was quickly joined by 2 more before they left I couldn’t see them but I heard some more ponies talking right outside and it didn’t seem like they were going anywhere anytime soon. That’s when I got an idea that many people have used before.

Hey! We can escape through the ceiling! Bypass the guards, cameras, and whatever else is in the way, then we get to an exit here in the west wing, and get outside.

hey Great idea! We can climb these shelves and crawl around above the lights and get past the guards and cameras like you said and then we can get out of here and find aqua.

We would likely have to steal a vehicle once we got out of here because I Highly doubt whoever brought us here brought us here brought my truck as well and it’s probably still sitting in the yard wherever aqua parked it at.

I gave vapor a boost up to the ceiling so she could remove a tile in the ceiling and help me up. I climbed up some shelves that thankfully were anchored to the ground so i didn’t fall over. Once vapor helped pull me up, we put the tile back so I’m case any pony came in here, no pony would suspect a thing. It was damn near pitch black up here, the only light came from the light fixtures below us that reflected light back up in here through small gaps and cracks in the tiles. They were definitely much stronger than the ones back home because I was almost able to fully stand up but the actual ceiling above the one we just climbed through was only just about 5 feet high, barely enough for me to stand up, but just enough for vapor to move around if she kept her head low a little bit and didn’t care about her wings brushing up against a bunch of stuff, which she did seem kind of bothered by since every time they touched something, her wings would twitch a decent bit cause I knew Pegasi wings were extremely sensitive to touch, not sure why, just knew that they were.

I reached into my pocket and felt around for my lighter so we could have a bit more light up here that wouldn’t be noticeable. I couldn’t find it though, I felt around in my other pockets as well, nothing. Somepony took my damn lighter while I was out. I knew I could easily replace it but that was a custom made gift lighter my sister gave me 6 years ago on my birthday when I got my license and my truck. Sure my sabaton zippo might be gone, but I could always get a new one when I was out of here and back home in canterlot. I pulled out my phone and set the light intensity as low as it could go. I was a bit worried about being seen up here, but not as much as being heard by ponies down in the hallways. I opened up my compass app and kept moving to the west.

It was hard to maneuver through gaps in piping, cables, and ducting since that was often the only way through to where we needed to go. It was nerve racking to be doing this because I could hear ponies below us talking clearly. They wanted to get us back on the gurneys as quick as possible and keep us from going anywhere again until they deemed us good enough to leave on our own. I knew that they were just looking out for our health, but I felt fine and vapor told me she felt fine as well aside from a couple of cuts and bruises from that crane collapse.

It was extremely dusty up above the ceiling and it was damn near impossible to suppress a sneeze but I was somehow managing to hold it in.

We kept crawling for 2 minutes now before I got caught on some cable bundles that had come undone and had ensnared one of my legs.

Oh shit! Not now, this is not the time for this!

What’s wrong!?

I’m stuck! My whole legs stuck in some wiring.

Vapor quickly clambered back over to me and tried to help me get out of the cables but it I was pretty stuck. Even if I took my boot off I still wouldn’t be able to pull my foot through. I still tried to pull my foot through the cables. Vapor carefully pulled cable after cable off my leg. Vapor had just about gotten me freed when I made the huge mistake of jerking my leg to help get myself out. My boot flew off my leg and went flying as we both watched it hit an air duct and caused a loud banging.

What the Tartarus was that?

It was even worse that there were either security guards or doctors down below us as well. I’m pretty sure that I just fucked both of us.

Probably just the AC kicking on. You really need to lay off the damn caffeine before you die of a heart attack.

As that pony finished her sentence, I was relieved since the AC did actually kick on.

See? I told you. Your just going crazy because you refuse to actually sleep and instead decide to load up on coffee and energy drinks. If a heart attack doesn’t kill you, diabetes will.

Alright, buck off

Buck me yourself tan, you coward. Oh but you won’t because you’re too afraid to whenever I’m not in heat and even though I don’t have a colt friend.

Whoever that mare was, She had one hell of a sharp tongue. We decided not to stick around and start to slowly crawl on again.

We were coming up to a wall which could either mean that we’ve hit a load bearing wall or an outside wall. We came to a stop just a few inches away from the wall and I moved a ceiling tile out of the way real quick to see where we were. We were thankfully close to an exit but there was a problem. Multiple cameras were pointed right at the exit and there were at least 2 guards standing there as well that were armed with sub machine guns, not sure why though, but then again, there could be somepony in the hospital as well that’s extremely dangerous that was meant to be getting sent to a mental health facility but got trapped here. I could take out the cameras with ease but that would raise suspicion since a set of cameras going out at the same time would definitely be suspicious and alert the rest of the security team to where we are. That’s when I got an idea.

Hey, pass me the radio real quick.

Maybe I could draw their attention away to somewhere else in the west wing or try and draw them closer to us and Quietly take them out and move from there.

If you can get them right underneath us we could drop down on top of them and pacify them that way. It might be our best option since we’re also in a blindspot for the cameras.

Vapor made a good point, we are in a blindspot and we could take them out from above easily and grab whatever they have that could be useful.

This was our best course of action and so we put our plan in motion. I turned the radio back on and removed the antenna and began pressing buttons on it to make noise. I mainly just hit the PTT button on the side every five seconds which seemed to work.

Where is that noise coming from? Do you hear that to?

Yeah I do. What in tartaurus is it?

Got no idea. Sounds like it’s coming from over there by the administration desk. Let’s check it out.

It’s working. Both guards are walking towards where are and they don’t seem to suspect a thing. I removed the panel completely and removed another one for vapor so we could get the drop on these guys. They were right below us now, this was it. It was now or never. We jumped down behind them together and began to subdue them. They struggled a good bit but they eventually passed out from us both keeping their mouths and noses covered. I have no idea how or why that worked like it does in movies and games but I’m guessing it’s because oxygen wasn’t getting around the system and they couldn’t breathe.

Quick, grab what you can off of her before more ponies show up or these guys wake up.

We both grabbed their vests, guns, keys, and radios before we moved them behind the desk and tried to open the door only to find out that it was locked. We were on camera as well and it sounded like every guard in the hospital was coming for us now. The FN P90s we grabbed off these ponies were good and all but we both only had 2 mags of ammo each and the high fire rates wouldn’t help us.

Gimmie the keys and I’ll try and get the door open. You keep an eye out for more guards and watch my back!

I quickly tossed the keys to vapor while I watched the hall way. I quickly pulled out my pistol and began to take out the cameras that were looking at us. I could hear a lot of hoof steps coming around the corner and they were coming fast. I kept my gun aimed down the hallway and as soon the first pony rounded the corner, I let off a quick warning shot. The sound of a 5.7X28 round leaving an smg barrel was much louder than most would think and it echoed for a whole 5-10 seconds before it stopped. My ears were already ringing from firing off a pistol indoors but an smg was much louder and made it even harder to hear.

Apparently this hospital had its own police department because Shortly after that pony scurried back around the corner that was coming right at us, 5 more ponies cladded in full body armor and holding ballistic shields slowly came around the corner. I was really starting to believe that there have been multiple very dangerous ponies here in the building in some kind of psych ward that had to be on lockdown or something because a hospital would never have a need for a security team armed with automatic weapons, bullet proof armor, and ballistic shields.

We got company! You gotta hurry up if we wanna get out of here!

Im trying but there’s like 60 keys on this one bucking ring!

Lay down your weapons immediately and approach us slowly. You will not be harmed IF you comply. We are only trying to help you.

Kiss my ass!!!

I quickly studied my surroundings to see what could be of use to me. I got a good look at the doors that these Armor wearing ponies had yet to walk through and they were being held open with electromagnets. There were two pull stations next to said doorway that would activate either the fire alarm or a police alert. Both would cause the doors to be closed but I’m willing to bet the one would call in law enforcement would also lock the doors. That’s when I got an idea.

It doesn’t have to end like this. Just put down your weapons and give up peacefully and no pony has to get hurt.

I shouldered my P90 and put my hands up while slowly started walking over towards the desk where we had put those two ponies we had knocked out. I grabbed both of them and dragged them out into the middle of the hallway, into plain view of the security ponies that kept slowly walking towards us. I released my grip on them and attempt to make an offer with the armoured ponies.

They’re not dead, just unconscious. We had our hooves and hands over their mouths just long enough to knock them out. We’ll let you take them, but in exchange, you guys all have to back up at least 20 feet and give us some room. Deal?

You got it. Rains, grind, get them out of here.

The pony in the front ordered as two of them put away their shields and slowly approached. I had my gun back out but lowered to try and keep them from attacking us. We were this close to escaping. They grabbed the unconscious guards and slowly dragged them out of the waiting area. I waited until they were clear of the door way and then charge right at the pull stations. I pulled the police alarm and watched as the doors automatically closed and locked. They tried to breach through the door way but couldn’t get through since the doors seem to be magnetically sealed.

I’ve got it unlocked! We’re home free!

Perfect timing. We’re now free and we can get to the naval yard as soon as we’re off hospital property. I know for a fact that the magic suppression barrier is still active and reaches to the parking lots and garages because I tried to cast a teleportation spell to get us close to the naval yard but I couldn’t even get my hands to spark and vapor couldn’t even fly at the moment. Our own technology was being used against us.

Come on, this way! We need to get a vehicle!

The hurricane was still stalled out and we were still in the eye but I have no idea how much longer we would have before it reversed and it started to dump rain and wind on us again. The entirety of the outside was an utter mess. Tree branches were down everywhere, traffic lights were out and down as well, some street signs were bent sideways from the winds, trash was blown about as well, and some vehicles that were either abandoned or left parked on the side of the road were blown over onto their sides as well. The cost was going was going to be high for this one and I knew now that the national guard would definitely be coming in to aid with search and rescue for this one.

There were many vehicles scattered about but most of them were either locked, flipped on their sides or even upside down, or flooded out. It took us almost 10 minutes but we had finally found a vehicle that was functional, on all of its tires, and unlocked. Vapor had found us an Isuzu NPR that was sitting in the middle of the road. Probably wasn’t our best option since it sat kind of low to the ground which didn’t help since there was still some flooding occurring and driving over stuff in this thing would be pretty bumpy but it was better than walking or letting vapor try and carry me all the way there.

We both got inside and I got to work trying to Hotwire the thing. This npr was equipped with the 5.2 liter 4HK1-TC Diesel engine so naturally, it might take longer to start than its gas counterpart since Diesel engines use compression and heat to ignite their fuel instead of a spark like gas engines do.

I had held the wires together that power the electronics in the truck for a minute now before using some electrical tape I found in the backseat to wrap them up together and then moved onto the wires needed to crank the starter. I didn’t have any gloves so it was already difficult enough to get the electronics wires taken care of but the wires for the starter could easily kill me because of the much higher voltage that i was attempting to use to my advantage. If I slipped up once, it could be my last mistake ever. Touching the wires together caused the starter to go for a second but also created an intense flash that temporarily blinded me. It would’ve been nice if this NPR had a gas engine instead because gas engines don’t take nearly as long to start as diesels do.

We might have a problem! It sounds like Somepony might have called the cops and told them where we went! Sounds like at least 4 or 5 squad cars are a couple blocks away!

The last thing I wanted. More unwanted attention.

Oh, goddamnit! We can’t seem to catch a break! I’ll try and get this thing started! You lie down in the back, if they come this way, I’ll run into a nearby alley way and wait them out.

I turned my attention back to the wires in my hands and kept trying to start the truck. After a few more attempts, it finally started. I got in right as 3 fire trucks and 2 ambulances rolled past on another street.

I think we’re good. Let’s get out of here and get to aqua.

I Threw the truck into gear and we started moving.

Hang on aqua, we’re coming

Radio reports were saying that the hurricane was starting to reverse and move back out to sea. We didn’t have a lot of time left before we would be pounded with rain, storm surges, and strong winds again. Power was out throughout many parts of the city and roads were blocked which meant that it take a little longer before we arrived back at Manehatten naval yard.

I could see the two “new” battleships off in the distance now from where we were. I could also see the fallen crane that had nearly killed all three of us as well. No idea how they were gonna fix that. Many military vehicles were out on the streets right now trying to help get injured and trapped ponies somewhere safe. Some were leaving the base while others were heading back to it.

We came across a small convoy that seemed to be heading back to the yard and got in line behind it. Some of the soldiers in the back of the truck we were following behind got suspicious until they looked out and saw me. They immediately tried to call out to me or something. One of the ponies in the truck eventually held up a piece of paper that said “follow us” on it. Thankfully they worked out that we were not trying to do anything dumb like break into the base. I could see the driver of the truck talking on the radio but I didn’t know what he was saying. I’m guessing he was telling somepony in charge that we were coming into base with them and to keep the gates open.

This was the home stretch. We were crossing the bridge now into the yard some ponies there were directing us so we followed the convoy over to what I could only assume was the motor pool. There was a place to park indoors to stay out of the rain thankfully and I followed a few vehicles inside. The building was mostly empty since many of the ponies stationed here were currently out assisting with rescuing ponies that were trapped or needed to relocate to new shelters. Just as I about pull into a parking spot, I got a glimpse of one vehicle that looked like it didn’t quite belong here that was parked against the wall in the back. I couldn’t quite see it but it’s main defining feature was it’s brushed silver paint job and clear cab lights.

I parked our stolen NPR and managed to shut it off by separating the electronics wires and we left our guns in the truck before we both got out. I decided to take a quick gander at what would be parked in here that a paintjob like that since i know for a damn fact that no army paints their vehicles a bright reflective silver paint. Finally coming face to face with it, I was a bit surprised. Somepony had moved my truck for me to someplace safe while I was probably on my way to the hospital or while I was already there. No time to think about it right now. Gotta get inside the main building before this storm is on top of us again, and judging by the way those storm clouds were moving and how close they seemed, I'd say we have anywhere between 5 and 15 minutes before all hell broke loose again.

Vapor, you know this place better than I do right? I need you to lead me to the infirmary!

No problem, Come on!

Just like that, we both charged out of the garage and made a beeline towards a building not far from where we were. I was following close behind vapor and I don't think I've ever run faster before in my life until now. Knowing that it was to make sure that somepony I was close to was ok is what made me push past the shortness of breath and burning chest and power through all the way until we reached a set of doors. Vapor swiped her ID and typed in a pass code before the doors were unlocked and we both were able to get inside.

1st floor is minor trauma and the emergency rooms. More than likely, she'll be in surgery which is up on the 4th floor if shes not already in a recovery room! The OR's on the north side of the building, we can take the stairs here in the eastern corridor and we'll exit next to the recovery rooms!

Alright then, lets take these stairs and get up there! Hopefully Aqua will be out of surgery by now!

I guarantee she'll already be in a recovery room! tendon repair surgerys don't take as long as other surgery's do but they still take a couple hours

The way she got stabbed by that rod already told me that the process would be long and a bit tedious. I don't know much about how and what surgery is like here in equestria compared to back on earth, but I know that reattaching severed tendons and nerves would be a lengthy process and could take a long time!

We had made it to the top of the stairwell and we had both taken a few moments to sit down and catch our breaths. My chest felt like it was being melted with thermite and my heart was beating so fast that It felt like it could just beat its way right out of my chest if it wanted to. My legs were sore, and I was sweating hard. After our breathing had mostly to returned to normal, we walked out of the doors and there was somepony at the end of the hallway who I honestly didn't expect but looked a bit relieved when he saw me.

Whiplash!?

Yeah its me. Look, I already know what happened and know why you came back here. They took her out of surgery 16 hours ago. She still hasn't woken up though and I've been constantly watching over her for you. She's right in there.

He pointed at the room for us and I quickly looked in. Aqua was out cold on a bed in the center of the room and hooked up to a heart beat monitor and breathing machine. The lights were off and I could hear the air blowing inside. Some blankets were pulled up over her and she seemed to be alright, according to her heartbeat monitor.

The docs said she got super lucky where that rod hit. She should be able to start some therapy within 10 days and be able to walk without the use of assisting items such as walkers, crutches, or canes. Thankfully she's a Pegasus so she can fly for most of the time. They said she should be walking like normal again in 3 months at most. She had lost a lot of blood as well but they stopped the bleeding and got her transfused and cleaned up right away

Well, at least that's some good news. I'm gonna stay here until she starts to wake up. Shes means more to me than anything else.

it was true. Both her and Tia meant more to me than anything in the world and probably just as much as the outcome of this war. The past 3 years I've spent with both of them were great but I knew getting over attached to both of them could be dangerous since that could present opportunities for sombra to send abduction squads to snatch up either one of them or both and try to ransom them into swinging the war in his favor.

I've been here without rest for a while but I'll stay here with you for even longer until she wakes up.

Me too. She's my best friend and making sure shes alright is the least I can do for her, especially after what happened.

They were both willing to stay by my side and wait for aqua to wake up amidst the natural disaster happening right outside the building. I could feel a strong sense of loyalty coming from them and it wasn’t just because I outranked one of them and was the same rank as the other.

Thank you, both of you. This means more than our new ships to me. I’m glad that ponies like you two are serving.

“Anything for you sir”

The way they said that in unison, it brought a genuine smile to my face, the first one i had cracked in almost 3 weeks now.

Well, I can tell we’re going to be here for a while, so let’s pull up some chairs and find something to do.

4 hours later

Hey, wake up! She’s starting to come to!

I had decided to take a nap for a while since busting out of a hospital and doing everything we did would tire you out a good bit. Whiplash was passed out right next to me as well. Poor guy had stood watch over her for me for almost 16 hours straight. But now that Aqua was starting to wake up, he would soon be able to get some proper rest as well. I looked in through the door window and sure enough, Aqua was waking up. Her eyes were twitching a bit and I could see her shifting around a bit under the blankets as well.

I quickly went in with vapor and we both stood next to the bed just as aqua cracked her eyes open. As soon as she saw us, she gave a weak smile and a quiet chuckle before she tried to sit up.

I'll be honest, I thought we all were about to die on that dock since that crane fell on the two of us, ...and you had so much magic built up in you that I could feel it radiating off you and warming things up.
She said sounding a bit tired.

Well its nice to know that all three of us shared a near death experience and you found it amusing. We should do this again when there's another major hurricane.

Joking with her about how we all almost died probably wasn't the smartest idea but it was nice to know that her sense of humor was undamaged by everything that happened.

It also turns out you get very lucky. The doctors were able to repair your tendons and nerves and they also said you should be able to walk like normal again in just a couple of months. Its amazing that you didn't bleed to death as well. You apparently had lost a lot of blood as well but they were able to stop the bleeding and perform a transfusion and keep you alive. Honestly, I don't know what I would've done if my best friend I've known since foalhood, would've died.

Vapor interjected, finishing off for me. I decided we should probably tell her what had happened as well after we woke up.

Well, while you were out after getting your leg fixed, we should probably tell you what happened with us when we came to, and just so you know, We woke up in manehatten general hospital, not here.

and so we told her everything that happened. From when we woke up, to when I knocked out a nurse, from when we triggered the code blue, to when we hid in a maintenance closet, until...

And then we climbed up into the ceiling. Its dusty as hell and hard to breathe without trying to sneeze, also pretty dark. That's when I decided to pull out my lighter to try and light things up a bit, but, somepony fuckin stole it. so now its gone forever.

We were telling her the part where we climbed up and into the ceiling when she got this really smug and tricky look on her face.

You mean, THIS, lighter?

She used her wings to reach over to some drawer next to the bed she was laying in and grabbed a very familiar looking zippo and then held it up to my face. Thats when it hit me, Aqua, took it.

You sly, sleazy, pick-pocketing pegasus.

I reached for it but she yanked her wing away before I could grab it and it seemed that she enjoyed seeing me a bit frustrated.

How did you even get that out of my pocket anyways?

It was easy. When we were rushing you here, I used my wings to slide my feathers into your pocket that I know you keep it in and pulled it out while I was driving. You have no Idea just how nimble and capable pegasus wings are. They're like your hands, but thinner, and a lot more maneuverable.

Still though, why did you take it?

I don't want to see you get sick from smoking those cigars you keep buying and end up dying one day because the chemicals in them gave you some really bad disease.

I appreciate her concern for my health, but I'm not a chronic smoker like many people back on earth who would go through a pack of cigarettes in a day. I limited myself to usually just 2 cigars a week. I took my lighter back from her and decided to sit down. There was a small couch and some chairs on the other side of the bed and I decided to go sit down but then remembered something. Whiplash was still out in the hallway.

I quickly walked back out and sure enough, He was still asleep on the floor. I decided it would probably be a good idea to bring him inside and put him on the couch instead of leaving him in the hallway. I carefully picked him and put him on my shoulder without waking him and carried him into the room and gently laid him down on the couch.

You know, He had told me that he had been keeping watch over you for the full 16 hours you were out of surgery before we showed up. Only letting the doctors assigned to you into the room and keeping a close eye on them while they were in here with you. He was probably awake for over a full 24 hours. That's gotta be pretty taxing.

He actually did? he stayed outside and only let certain ponies in here while I was unconscious?

Yep, I'm guessing he did it because he thought that if anypony hurt you while I wasn't here, I'd probably find them and tear their heart out or something. But I wouldn't tear their heart out though. I'm not a cold blooded killer.

Maybe. But you know that there's been a lot of rumors circulating among a lot POW's that have been captured that's somehow been leaked to the public that you personally approved of and took part in torturing our prisoners for info and to send a message to sombra and try and instill some fear in his soldiers and lower their overall morale. I know its already really rough for both sides on the front lines in the trenches.

It's true. Somepony or group of ponies started a rumor about me that I approve of torturing and that I did it myself as well, but that was not that case. If a captured enemy soldier was being interrogated and refused to cooperate, they might receive a few punches here and there along with some very verbal and explicit wording, but that was about it. I had issued a cease and desist order to stop the rumors from spreading and got most of them cleared up but a few older ponies and just over all idiots still believed that we tortured prisoners of war but we didn't, we have morals and standards. Many prisoners were put to work to support the war effort, but they were watched closely.

Well, either way. We can try and figure out how to use this to our advantage. We're gonna be stuck here for a while. That hurricanes moving backwards out to sea so we're gonna be here together for a few days. That hurricanes still moving as slow as it was before when we were on our way into manehatten.

I know. I can tell my phone was going off like crazy because the amount of notifications from news and weather apps completAely flooded the notification center. Speaking of which, let me actually turn on the do not disturb feature and do something real quick.

Mine was going off like crazy as well. I had to totally power it down as soon as I woke up, or risk getting caught while trying to escape.

Mine wasn't going off for some reason. Strange.

Did you forget to pay your bill? Again?

The hell do you mean by again?

Babe, you always forget to pay your phone bill and either me or tia have to remind you to do it or just do it for you.

No I don't, I pay it on time. I always do.

She just gave me a skeptical look and raised one of her eyebrows.

Let me see your phone then.

Alright...here

I unlocked and gave her my phone real quick.

You say you paid it, but I just looked and your behind on it. Don't worry, I'll take care of it for you, again.

Alright whatever. Lets not argue about it though. Besides, you can't walk right now, Me and vapor are probably wanted by the manehatten police department, and commander whiplash is asleep right now.

After that, we quieted down a bit, just chatted about whatever to pass the time, played a few games here and there, and did some other things. We probably wouldn't be able to leave until monday like radio reports said but hey, I'd rather be stuck in a hospital room with my currently disabled marefriend and her best friend, than stuck in a hospital bed of my own. We would still have to swing by the hotel we were supposed to stay at until the storm passed and grab our stuff before we went back home to canterlot, but we didnt have much. All I knew though, was that the drive home probably won't take as long as it did to get here. It's been one hell of a chaotic week, and I'm sure this isn’t the end of it.

Author's Note

The healthy human mind doesnt wake up in the morning and think it'll be productive today or catch a life threatening disease. But I think that's a luxury, not a curse. To know that you're at constant high risk whenever you go outside is a kind of freedom. Good time to...write a lengthy chapter. Stuck inside, Stuck in online school, trying to bypass wifi restrictions. But the pages and covers here stained with a decade of writing, They will remember us...for this. Because out of the vast array of stories, this is the one I choose to write for you. I go forward, like a breath exhaled from the earth. With passion in my heart and one goal in site, I. Will. Continue this.

In all honesty though, I'm so sorry that I've not done anything with this fic in a while. I've been extremely lazy and haven't had the opportunity to do some proper writing since I my computers been broken and ive been trying to fix it, not to mention I've been busy with a rather large automotive project. I hope you enjoy this lengthy chapter and for the love of christ, wash your hands and wear your goddamn mask, its not that damn hard. Also, try not to question that first paragraph in this authors note. I just bought cod mw2cr and finished it recently. Also go check out my other story, A sable made of silver. Also one final thing. Let me know if the colored text helps make things a bit easier to read and understand so I know to continue using colored text or just stick to the regular one color text