Soldiers: Skyfall

"This is the Automated Emergency Broadcast System, a state of Emergency has been declared for Las Pegasus. Please follow all---
"This is the Automated Emergency Broadcast System, a state of Emergency has been declared for Las Pegasus. Please follow all---
"This is the Automated Emergency Broadcast System, a state of Emergency has been declared for Las Pegasus. Please follow all---"
--Repeated broadcast Las Pegasus.

Date: August 9th 1666 CC
Time: 10:15
Name: Morning Rise
Location: Manehatten Streets

Morning Rise felt instant relief upon seeing Broken Dawn before her at the end of the hall, bathed in the green light from the device she always wore on her right wrist.

Broken began to walk down the hall towards Rise. “I…I was so worried.” Rise started to say. “With everything going on I was… I thought you–” She was cut off when Broken slapped the back of her head.

“The fuck you think you are doing going off somewhere else without calling?” Broken scolded as she glared at the pegasus.

“I… I didn't want you to show up…” She said meekly.

“I only show up when I need to, you damn well know that.” Broken said as stepped back. “Still, glad you made it. Things are going to hell in a handbasket.”

Rise nodded as she accepted the scolding from the unicorn mare. She was as she always was, red and pink mane a mess, wearing her dark blue grease and oil stained jumpsuit with a short messy tail, though now sporting saddlebags.

Broken seemed to move her eye in the weird way she occialally did. “Come on we got to go.” She said, stepping around Rise to head for the door.

“Are… Where are we going?” Rise asked scrambling to follow.

“Back to the loft, and from there, out of the city.” Broken said, starting to head back the way they came.

“The Loft… it’s gone… last I saw, it was an inferno….” Rise said figuring it happened after Broken left.

Broken stopped and frowned. “Bastards… my stuff was in there.” She said, annoyed, then sighed before turning to head the other way. “Come on, the objective is to escape the city.”

“Shouldn't we head for an evac area or one of the bridges?” Rise asked, confused as they didn't seem to be heading that way.

“No, everyone else will be doing that, it's going to be packed and I'd rather not get caught up with nowhere to go.” Broken said as she marched on.

“Oh. Uh… right.” Rise said, not having thought of that.

Rise followed the other mare closely. She couldn't figure out how she was so calm in all of this. Broken never really talked about her past a lot, saying it wasn't really important, but whatever it was, it made the unicorn almost creepily calm.

Broken said nothing as they walked up the street, occasionally looking around as she walked and moved her eyes in her weird way until she stopped in her tracks. Broken started checking the thing on her leg. Rise never understood why it was called a Pip-Buck or why she never took it off, partly because she learned long ago Broken wasn't one to answer questions.

After a minute of her checking it over, her head shot up looking ahead of them before she grabbed the front of Rise’s dress and dragged her into an alley.

“Ack! Hey, what-”

Magic clamped her mouth shut as she was tossed behind a dumpster and Rise got behind it as well motioning for Rise to be quiet as she looked towards the end of the alley way.

Rise said nothing as she sat on the ground and soon hearing what sounded like hooves walking by, several of them. It was a little bit after they passed before Broken seemed to relax, standing up.

“Come on, we need to keep moving.” She said, heading back towards the street.

“What… What was that?” Rise asked.

“Red Ticks.” Was all Broken said as she walked.

“Okay…” Rise said, not getting it. “Where are we going?”

“A marina… going to see if we can secure a boat across the bay.”

Rise blinked. It made some sense, though she wondered about the chances of finding a boat and how Broken would react to being on the water as she hated being inside of cars and anything that moved that wasn't her own hooves. They walked for a bit more before Rise spoke.

“So, do you know how to drive a boat?”

“No.” Broken said without looking back.

“So, is someone waiting for us there?”

“Nope.”

“So what you just plan to take a boat and paddle?”

“Pretty much.”

“That’s… you have to be kidding me.”

“Got a better plan?”

“We could find some soldiers… or head to a Keeper Station or… or-”

“Or what? They got their hooves full trying to deal with this and help everyone so what exactly do you think they can do with us besides waste their time they could better use to help other people who need it.” Broken said, looking at her.

“Well, we… could use their help.”

“We are far better off letting them do their jobs and get others who need it more than us.”

“Why won't you even consider it?”

“Because its a stupid idea that will just waste our time and cost others.”

“Why do you always shoot down everything I think when it comes to anything important?” Rise said, growing annoyed.

“Because its usually stupid.”

“What's that supposed to mean?” She said hackles were rising.

Broken paused and looked back at her. “I mean exactly what I said, nearly all your ideas when it comes to important things are rather stupid and short sighted.” She said matter of factly. “Hell, even your ideas for non important things are short sighted.”

“The hell is your problem?” She said, “I'm the daughter of a princess, and I know how to do things.”

“Trust me I know, it's so obvious.” Broken said. “And yeah you know how to do things, drink, party all night, and waste your time.”

“Oh, as if what you do is better hiding away in your workshop.”

“Least I'm learning things and applying my education.”

Rise opened her mouth to speak when another voice spoke behind Broken.

“Well, what do we have here? Seems they are having a bit of a spat.” A stallion's voice said.

Broken spun around to face the voice automatically getting between the voice and Rise.

There was an earth pony stallion and a unicorn mare. “What do you want?” Broken said firmly.

“Oh, nothing. We heard you two and thought we’d come see what all the noise was.” The stallion said.

“Yeah.” The mare said with a look Rise couldn't place but it unnerved her.

“Well, we are fine so you can move along.” Broken said.

“Nonsense. Why don't you two come with us, after all, safety in numbers.” The mare said, smiling wider.

“We are good.” Broken said.

“Come on, don’t be like that, you can come party with us, you like to party right?” The stallion said looking from broken to Rise, a look that made her skin crawl.

“I said, ‘we are good.’” Broken said more firmly.

“Come on, is that any way to speak to new friends? You should be more polite.” he said.

Rise heard something behind her and started to turn her head to see when she felt a sharp pain in it and stumbled to the side. Through The spots she saw Broken starting to turn her head as the unicorn mare charged her horn and the stallion charged her.

Then Rise was being dragged and when she started to struggle she felt a kick to her rib that drove the air from her lungs. She gasped as she saw more spots and managed to see another large stallion grabbing her and trying to drag her away.

She was trying to get air in her lungs to call for help or Broken or anyone as panic set in, having no idea what they wanted.

Then there were two loud bangs and when the stallion looked up there was a third and his head snapped back before he collapsed next to Rise.

She gasped and tried to move away till she felt herself being dragged away from him and her mind was in full panic as she struggled more.

“Rise easy, it's me.” Broken said as she pulled the panicked mare into a hug. Rise slowly calmed as she hugged the unicorn tears in her eyes.

Rise slowly calmed and got her breathing back under control and Broken slowly let her go. IT was then Rise saw the bruise forming on Broken’s cheek and the chunk of the mare's mane missing and her eyes went wide.

“Broken… you-” She said but Broken interrupted her.

“Are you okay?” She asked concerned, showing nothing about her own injuries, it was then Rise noticed the pistol Broken held and realized what the bangs had been.

Broken had somehow fought off two of them and saved Rise… killing all 3 of them she… if Broken hadn't been here…..

It was now as it hit her. The partying, the late nights doing whatever she wanted, everything.

She was utterly useless in this situation as she didn't know a damn thing that could help.