Constellation Family Estate
11:00AM
General Meteor Shower, Royal Marines
500 Miles from Port Caspia, 200 Miles from Appaloosa

“Welcome to Hell, General!” A familiar solider yelled over the wiring of rotors as I dropped off the transport.

“Then I’m glad I’m there with familiar faces Spark. What’s the situation?”

“We’re pretty much entrenched, and I’ve got ten mortar tubes set up in the gully about two hundred feet behind the house. Unfortunately, we’ve got a problem. Our VIP and host are missing.”

As I made for the house with my old trainee, I quickly took stock of the direct area around the property. Foxholes, trenches and sandbags had all been set up rather quickly and efficiently. “Dad, did Spark say that Conny and Dawn are missing?” Dusk asked after a quick tap on my shoulder.

“Yeah, and that’s the weird part. She was in the basement with the girl when we got here. I went to check on them about five minutes ago. The whole house is empty. I’ve got ponies on the front and back doors, and there’s no bulkhead into the basement. Where’d they go?”

“I doubt anypony left. There’s probably some sort of safe room under the basement floor. I’ve known Constellation for almost twenty years. That mare’s backup plans have backup plans.” I said as our group walked in the front door. “Cosmo, Storm Cloud, go gather up the rest of your team. I want every pony of note ready for a briefing in fifteen.”

“We’re on it. Be back in a few.”

As the two brothers departed, the rest of us made for the basement. Spark wasn’t lying, aside from us there was nopony in that old musty space. “Spark, did you have the engineers do ground pulses before digging in?”

Spark nodded. “Yeah, per protocol. Didn’t want to hit a bolder or something when we started setting up the emplacements.”

“And none of them got weird echoes or returns on the pulses?” Dusk asked.

“Well one engineer thought he got something on the first pass when we were checking out around the house, but he couldn’t replicate it. Neither could I. Said the hit came back sounding mushy… Which doesn’t make any sense. It’s an ultrasonic pulse spell.”

It took me all of a moment to put together was Spark was relaying. “There’s a dampener of some sort under here. Shielding to prevent active detection of whatever is buried under the property. Did the engineer get a depth return?”

Spark nodded. “Yeah, he guessed about fifteen to twenty feet. Why?”

“Dart, Dusk. Remember those briefings on artillery capability?”

Dart nodded first. “Yeah, unless you’re talking about a siege mortar. Even then, you’d still need a twenty-four inch unit to get to those depths with a crater.”

“Yeah, and those are heavy as all hell and only exist in prototype form.” Dusk added. “So unless you’ve got the resources to steal a prototype super-heavy artillery piece and transport it from the nearest testing range that has one, whatever is under our feet is basically as close to impenetrable as you can get. But where’s the front door…”

“General, we’ve got a problem!” Cosmo shouted as he came running down the stairs. “Cloud Runner and Sky… Hey, where’d that boiler come from?” Storm Cloud and another member of the team, Phalanx, came marching down right behind the unicorn, and they both seemed interested in the giant snowman boiler in the far corner of the basement.

I looked to the boiler, and back to Cosmo. “What are you talking about? That thing is ancient. And it’s way too damn big and heavy to come down the stairs. How else do you heat this shack?”

“With air heating talismans that Cosmo and I crafted and installed throughout the house.” Storm Cloud added. “When Mom moved in here two years ago there was nothing down here. Hell, it was a stone foundation and a dirt floor!”

Looking around, it was clear that the foundation was solid concrete. Floor was concrete as well, which for the age of the house didn’t fit at all. “The boiler, that’s our front door. Everything else is for show.” I said as I walked over to the giant hunk of metal wrapped in insulation. “So how do we open it?”

Dusk walked up next to me and turned his eyes right to the ground to the left of the boiler. “Marks on the floor. Probably slides this way.” Dusk grabbed onto a pipe off the side of the boiler and tried pulling. The boiler didn’t budge. “Oh come on!”

“Probably isn’t going to move with everything still connect… Wait.” Cosmo said as he started following the pipes in the ceiling. “The pipes on the boiler, they’re small enough to fit inside these other pipes.”

“Pipes that don’t go anywhere.” Spark added. “Come to think of it, none of this piping is right.”

“What makes you say that?” I asked.

“Other than the pipes not going anywhere, you’ve got four steam mains. You’d have one large pipe with smaller offshoots. And there’s no return, and no pitch of anything back towards the boiler… Oh come on.”

“What is it?”

“The doorknob is one damn union.” Spark said, pointing at the offending piece of hardware on the side of the boiler facing the wall.

While Spark quickly undid the union, I exchanged a glance with my son. “And where did you learn all this?”

“When I was attached to the HMS Chicacolt about six months ago. They were short handed in the engine room, so I was volunteered to be the extra body.”

“So instead of daydreaming, you listened for a change?” I said with a chuckle.

Spark just rolled his eyes, motioned to Dusk and the two tag-teamed what wheeled to be a rather light boiler. And under that beast was a staircase. “Yeah, that was way too light.” Dusk muttered.

I pulled my old service revolver out of it’s holster and cocked the hammer. “Only had to be there for show. I’ll take point, Cosmo you’re on my six. The rest of you hold here.”

“What, are we supposed to let you have all the fun old man?”

“Rank comes with privileges Spark.” I said as I started down the stairwell. Hitting the bottom, we reached a door that was definitely way too modern to have been in place terribly long. “What do you think Cosmo?”

“Looks like a bulkhead off a submarine.” The colt said as he swung the door open.

Now, to say walking through that bulkhead was like stepping into another world was an understatement if I could ever think of one. Not only was the room rather modern looking, but so was everything else in it. Modern combat rifles, pony defense weapons, pistols, anti-material rifles, grenade launchers, rocket launchers, and more ammo than one pony of Constellation’s medical profession could go through in a frugal lifetime. “Cosmo?”

“I swear, I knew nothing about any of this. Hell, I thought Mom hated guns.”

The surprise on Cosmo’s voice gave truth to what he was saying. And he was right about that last part. I had always thought that Constellation hated guns too. But here she’s easily got enough firepower to arm a full battalion. “Dear Celestia, you seeing some of this stuff kid?” I asked as I walked up to one of the racks. “She’s got brand new IARs. These things only just got approved for production.”

“That’s not all.” Cosmo said, motioning to the next room.

From there things just got even weirder. The next room was some sort of control room. Looked more like a modern combat information center like you’d see on a warship. “Goalkeeper status… Standby.”

“Wait, Goalkeeper?” Cosmo asked as he got up close and personal with the control station. “Shit… How’d she get this?”

“You tell me. Last I checked this thing was supposed to still be in testing. And hidden deployable mounts? These things rise right up out of the ground. I know you’re good Cosmo, but no way in hell you and your brother did all this.”

“Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence.” The stallion retorted. “Better yet, who paid for all of this? Mom never made a salary to afford the purchase price on a quarter million credit computer like this. You would’ve heard if high tech prototype equipment went missing, right?”

“Yeah, I would’ve. But that doesn’t explain the eight gun turrets when only two of the Goalkeepers had been built when I retired. I’m thinking that there’s deep pockets involved here, and those pockets probably made sure it wasn’t common knowledge that everything down here exists.”

I motioned for Cosmo to follow as we made for the next room. This was lined with some sorts of body armor. The room after that was an automated machine shop, followed by a series of storerooms holding spare parts for who knew what.

“GAAGH!”

“Who the hell was that?” I asked.

“Give you one guess.” Cosmo said as we took off down the to the end of the hallway that branched off to the store rooms.

The open door at the end turned out to be a medical suite, just as modern as everything else down in this bunker. Three ponies were standing over an operating table. Two were holding down somepony, likely our Alicorn friend, while a familiar cream colored mare was clearly working on something. “About time you got your thumb out of your ass Meteor. Now come on, I need you two to help hold Dawn still.”

The mare from the pictures seemed wracked with pain, and Cosmo’s missing compatriots were having one hell of a time holding her down. “Conny, what the hell are you doing?” I yelled as I threw myself down over Dawn’s torso.

“Trying to get this damn thing out of her neck. But she keeps moving, and I can’t get a good grip on it. Cosmo, hold her head still!”

“I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU!” Dawn screamed.

“Nah, you won’t. Kid, if this thing is doing what I think it’s doing, you’re going to love me once the damn thing is out.”Constellation had made a small incision into the back of Dawn’s neck and there was sure as hell something in there. But between the thrashing and the small opening to view, I couldn’t readily tell what it was. “Alright, I’ve got it. On three, hold her still. One… Two… Three!”

In an instant, Conny had the offending object pulled clear of Dawn’s neck, and almost immediately she calmed down. “Should we get off her?” I heard Sky ask.
Constellation had turned away, but she nodded. “Yeah, we’re good. Pain killers and local anesthetics should be working now. Not that they weren’t working, but this damn thing was overriding them. Almost like Dawn never got them in the first place.”

“What the hell’s going on down here!?” Dusk yelled as he ran in, Dart close on his heels.

“Nothing Dusk, just some emergency surgery. Your baby girl is fine.” Constellation said as she handed me a silver pan, blooded crystal spike sitting in it. “Now, can I ask you something Meteor? How psychotic is your mother-in-law?”

“Faust? What does-”

“I would’ve hoped she was a decent pony, but apparently surgically implanting a pain crystal next to a pony’s spinal column isn’t beneath her.” She said. “You know how I know that she probably put this damn thing there? The scar tissue was just about as old as Dawn was. And of course, the fucking thing grew right along with her.”

“Did you say a pain crystal?” Dart asked.

Constellation nodded. “I noticed that Dawn was in some serious pain when she got here. Shrapnel in some of her wounds, deeps lacerations, yada yada. Point is that no pain killer of local anesthetic did squat. So I ran scan, and found this infernal piece of Sombran magic lodged right next to her spine. Close enough that electrical impulses it gave off in random strengths would stimulate her nervous system. It would keep her thalamus and amygdala working on and off, but in such a way that her brain could never stop processing the pain. It could range from a minor tingling to a head splitting migraine in seconds.”

Dusk and Dart were shocked. “How long has this thing been working?!” Dusk asked, clearly sounding panicked.

“Judging by the residual power left in this thing, I’d say about a year since it was activated remotely.” Constellation said before dumping the crystal on the floor and crushing it under her heel with a violent stomp. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that Faust wasn’t terribly happy that her captive bird left the nest. So, she turned the crystal on, probably hoping to convince Dawn to return to her… Fealty through pain and suffering. This shit is fucking sick Meteor.”

“Can I just say something?”

We all turned to the mare lying on the table, now with a clearly relieved look on her face. Constellation immediately jumped to Dawn’s side. “Dear, you can say whatever is on your mind. How are you feeling?”

“Well I sure as hell don’t love you, but I think I just found my new best friend.” Dawn said, a relieved grin crossing her face. She suddenly saw Dusk and Dart standing behind Conny, and her eyes went from relieved to a look of almost child-like wonder. “Mom? Dad? It’s really you? You’re really here?”

Dart nodded and brushed Dawn’s mane out of her face. “She’s got your eyes Dusk.”

“And she’s clearly gotten her looks from my better half.” Dusk added. “Dawn… That’s one hell of a beautiful name. I don’t think we could’ve picked a better one.”

I just rolled my eyes. “Will you two just quit ogling her? Give your daughter a hug for crying out loud!”

What I didn’t expect was for Dart to grab me in her magic and drag me into the emotional dogpile that formed at the bedside. “You’re part of this too, you old stallion.” Dart whispered.

I stepped back from the pile of limbs and tears, admittedly shedding a few myself. “You’re right, but we’ve still got a job to do. We need to keep Dawn safe.”

As the group hug broke up Dawn looked sat up and looked at me. “Keep me safe? Why, what’s happening?”

“Apparently the organization you were trying to dismantle has some serious coin and influence. They paid off an entire infantry regiment to go rouge, steal their gear and cross the border. The 177th Naval Infantry Regiment is on their way here. We’ve got less than an hour until they get here.”

“Hate to burst your bubble General, but they’re not alone.” Constellation said. “Right after Cosmo left I had Sky and Cloud Runner do their own recon sweep. They’ve got the 6th Armored Brigade backing them up.”

It took me a moment to process what the old doctor had just said. “Did I hear you right? Did you say we’ve got tanks rolling in with them? Where’s your proof? The Thunderbolt’s own recon flight only caught the 177th.”

“That’s because they were hiding out in a cave system about an hour and a half from here. We only caught them because we went in low, and they fired on us.” Sky said, handing me photographs picked up from her personal helmet camera. “They were right along the projected path of the 177th, making a link-up simple.”

“And when were you planning on sharing this?” I asked.

“As soon as I had Dawn patched up. Unfortunately that pain crystal slowed me way down. If it hadn’t… Well, I would’ve been done three hours ago.”

“Cosmo, you’re the intel pony. Why didn’t you pick up on a missing tank regiment?” I asked.

“Because according to their own internal reports, the 6th Armored is in the Lusitano Islands conducting tropical operations exercises.”

“That would put their closest point of departure as Ceuta. That’s the opposite side of the continent from Caspia.” Dusk pointed out. “That means that there’s someone in Imperial High Command fabricating records. We may have a hell of a lot more incoming than just two rogue units.”

“We don’t know that for certain.” I added. “Cosmo, go up top and get Spark. Tell him to take his reserves down here and arm them up with the anti-vehicle weapons that we saw in that armory. Dusk, go find the headquarters company and relocate them down here. Dart, see about getting the goalkeeper turrets deployed and functional, we’ll likely need them. Conny, go with Dart. This is your house, so I’d imagine you know where the light switches are. Now go, we’re running short on time as it is.” I saw Dusk take a quick glance at his daughter and I caught his shoulder as he made for the door. “Don’t worry, I’ve got her.”

Dusk nodded and quickly left the room, leaving myself, Dawn, and Cosmo’s pegasi compatriots. “So… What do we do?” Cloud Runner asked.

“Well, you two are going to go figure out where Celestia and Luna are. If we’ve got tanks rolling in, we’re going to need them to help with the heavy lifting.”

“Right, we’re on it General.”

As the final pair left the room, Dawn and I were left alone. “So… They don’t know?”

I shook my head. “It’s not common knowledge that some marine got in bed with a princess. For the time being it’s something I’d prefer to keep that way.”

“So then why are we here?”

“Because I wanted a moment with you alone.” I said as I sat down on the bed next to my grandfoal. “Look, I get that when Faust gets involved things tend to get very complicated very quickly. But I take it that you decided you were done with her?”

Dawn nodded. “Up until a year ago, at least from my perspective, I had been told that my parents had both died in some train crash. I never bought it for a minute, but when I finally found proof of not only who they were, but that they were in danger? I basically told Faust to shove it and broke out of that bubble of hers.”

“You mean that little pocket time-dilated dimension she likes hiding in?”

“Yup. Moment I left is when the pain started. By the time I caught up to De Witt and his cronies, he somehow had already figured out that I existed.”

Wait, she said De Witt and his cronies. “De Witt’s dead.” I said.

Dawn shook her head. “Like hell he is. That bastard is the one who kicked my ass. Somehow he must’ve known about the pain crystal… Admittedly I guessed that I had one stuck in me somewhere, but I wasn’t about to open myself up to find it. But somehow De Witt turned it way up. While I was in complete agony, he beat the shit out of me and left me in the warehouse down in Palas.”

“Palas?”

“Yup, the Imperial Capital. And he’s got a rather powerful friend who came down for a visit.”

I automatically did not like where this was going. A dead griffin psychopath was not really dead was one thing, but my penchant for the dramatic started leading my mind to a conclusion that lead me to even more dread. “You said he had a powerful friend? Who was it?”

“Well… It was the Imperial Autarch, Caprice. Apparently his talents are a family trait.”

I got up and immediately stared Dawn down. “Are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?”

Dawn nodded, a look that split between loathing and confident plastered across her face. “Yes, not only is De Witt alive, but the Imperial Autarch is De Witt’s sister, and they’re in the family business together. They sound like they’re so nice, don’t they?”

Well fuck, of course it couldn’t be that simple, could it?

Author's Note

Well, we're launching a day early as I've got shenanigans to attend to tomorrow. We've got another chapter down, with more lined up for the coming weeks. We've now met our McCoy level doctor in Constellation, an old protégé of Meteor's, Spark, and Phalanx, the other member of Cosmo's EI field team, Polaris. And we get a good look at Dawn, along with a reason to use Marik's design of her.

Now this is something I want the reader to stew over. What is Faust's game? Why take an unborn child, out of an admittedly horrible situation, only to take that child and mold her into an assassin?

And now for some refs for imagery's sake. Some are by Pia-Sama from some time back, but are still important. Dawn's ref is done by the great Marik Azemus (we're doing something new with her, so stay tuned and I'll post that when it's done), and Spark's was done by the artist that for the life of me I can't remember their name. So yeah... If anyone recognizes the work, pass me a name along?

Phalanx:

Constellation:

Dawn:

Spark: