Fallout Equestria: Storm Protocol

Written by: Thundercloud

Edited by: Mcmiky3332210 and Solstice

("You know you train-trained to be a soldier at war. It was a game-game, ah but that was before. We heard the bang bang. And then it started to change. We took the train train to the bottom again")

Location: Settlement of Flatwoods. Equestrian Wasteland

Time: 11:25 Equestrian military time

“THA’S FAR EN’NUFF!” A voice laden with the same Appleachian twang as many others had ordered. I looked around for the owner of the voice, finding a blue face, and pink mane, half obscured by a sheet metal embrasure, crudely welded to the side of the metal shipping container placed atop the gate closest to us.

“S’all’rigt’. Ah’ know her.” Blackwood said as he maneuvered around me. “Pin’? We need’tah talk with mom.” He called to the near-hidden mare.

“Blackw’ud? Tha’ hell are ya’ doi’n back home? Mom sent yall tah’ build up that low-cal. And when’d ya’ start work’in with Enclave Bast’rds?” The mare, Pine, called back.

“Your sister is very charming…” I quipped, just loud enough for him to hear.

He snorted sarcastically. “Onl’y tha’ ha’f of’it…”

Blackwood shifted his weight. “Jus’ open tha’ damn gate, ‘for tha’ gators get us…” He called, with an annoyed tone.

The gate took just long enough to open for me to survey the surroundings, finding a quartet of large, sickly green alligators, sunning themselves on a rock down by the banks of the murky river. Because I didn't want to get eaten alive, I flapped my wings and began hovering about a head’s height above the cracked asphalt as we made our way through the opening gate. Our procession passed towns-ponies of all ages, as well as griffons, a zebra or two, and to my surprise, a kirin, peeping outside to catch a glimpse of the “scary Enclaver” that had entered alongside Blackwood.

For a town built before the bombs, Flatwoods was very well kept. The town consisted of two roads. Both branched from the one that held the “south” gate, the one we had entered from. From here, it split into a high road and a low road. The high road led up a steep incline to the left, and appeared to contain mostly well-kept looking homes. The low road is what we were led down by Pine, as well as a griffon holding a large anti-material rifle. At that moment, I felt extremely small and weak. I had purposely left my battle saddle and power armor to notseem like a huge threat, opting only for a concealed plate carrier under my uniform and a small plasma defender pistol, tucked in my neck holster.

That all being said, the low road was dedicated to storefronts. Every shop we passed sold something different, and their colorful signs listed the genre of the wares or services they sold. Armor, Tailor, Barber, Weapons, I read as we sauntered past in a brisk trot. They even had a bookstore that was stocked. If it wasn’t for the constant downpour of stinging rain, I would have lingered more looking into storefronts… Maybe later.

I flew up next to Blackwood, intending to ask about something that didn't add up completely. “So… If you are a president, why is your mothers title, mayor?”

Blackwood snorted. “Semantics most’ly. Be’in called President sounds loads much nic’r, y’know?”

I chortled. “Whatever you say, Mr President,” I teased.

Adjusting my helmet with a hoof, I followed the rest of the group into a large governmental building, quarried from tan-colored rock. Landing inside the atrium, I brushed the loose droplets of rain off with my wings. No reason not to look professional.

Pine, the griffon, Squeezer, and Blackwood were led into a first floor room, but when Anakvad and I attempted to follow, the griffon stopped us with a wing.

“Sorry Boss.” He said with an extremely raspy, and hostile, tone of voice. “Only for them.”

I squinted at him, then backed up three steps. He shot me a menacing smile and slammed the door. “Rude” I mumbled, as I turned to Anakvad.

The zebra shrugged in response. “Become a slave for them for a while, and you get used to it.” He said with a downcast look.

I sighed, then motioned for him to follow. “C’mon. Let's go check out the mercantile. I’m sure you’ll find something you like.” As we made our way out, thankfully sheltered by a covered porch, I pulled an earbloom from my PipBuck and pinged Shady.

“What’s up Cap?” He asked when the connection was paired.

“Bring down some of your scrap for bartering. There are a lot of stores down here, and I want to see if anything piques our interests and pockets.” I joked with a lighthearted tone.

“Already on the way Cap.” Shady said, then ended the connection. No-less than two-minutes later, Shady landed under the covered porch, wearing four overladen saddlebags of various things.

I was thankful he had opted to only bring a small magical energy pistol, holstered in a leather sleeve around his neck, and wear his uniform. Being seen as conquerors was not desire, after all.

We stepped down off the raised porch, and onto one of the faded crosswalks bisecting the worn and cracked asphalt roads. Thankfully, these two were covered by the same overhangs that made up every awning in the “shopping district”. All together, this formed a consistent and unbroken shield from the onslaught of the rain, and boom of thunder and lightning, looking like a blocky “U” shape. We crossed the road, and walked back up onto the raised platform, greeted first by a bakery that wafted delicious smells out the propped open door.

I popped my head in to take a look around the small shop, attracting the attention of the green coated, blue and teal striped mane, stallion standing behind a confectionery case.

“Hey! Y’all are those Enclave pegasi that entered.” He cheerily greeted as he made his way where we could see him better. I took notice of his Cutie Mark, a Bagel with a plethora of spreads and toppings on it as he neared the checkout counter. “Aw shucks, where are my manners? I’m Everything Bagel, proprietor of this fine bakery.

I nodded at the excited young stallion. “Captain Thundercloud. And this is my second in command, Lieutenant Shady Skies.”

Everything Bagel smiled wide. “Wow. I heard tales from Ma’ that Pegasi were still out there, and they lived in the sky, but I never thought I’d get to meet them one day. It's like, guh? A race that all but disappeared on the last day is still out there? Blows my little mind!”

He sure did like to talk… I waved him off with a wing, and changed the subject. “You said this was a bakery? Can I place an order? I haven't had lunch yet, and we may be here a while.”

“Mhm, sure can! We also do sub’s as well. Make’em fresh, myself.” Bagel said with an affirmative nod. He then gestured, somewhat dramatically, to a collection of shiny metal tubs, filled with fruits, vegetables, and condiments, embedded in one of the counters.

I curiously approached the selection. Aside from a strange, lumpy tomato, (or was it a potato?), an off-purple fruit, and some strange pods, everything seemed fresh. Well, fresh as you can get in the wasteland I suppose. I pointed at the strange lumpy fruit. “What is that?”

Everything Bagel followed my hoof, then responded with a quizzical look. “You’ve never seen a tato before?”

“A what?” I replied with a flat look.

“A tato. It's a mutant.. thingy. A cross mutation of a potato and tomato.” Bagel replied, clearly attempting to explain the horrible-looking produce.

“That's… “ I struggled with what to say next. Thinking about two foods that mutated to one disgusting abomination of their former selves threw my emotions, and stomach, into a fit.

“It’s not the most appetizing thing, I know. But, it is a good alternative to starving.” Bagel said with a weak smile.

I shook my head, still engrossed at the sight of the “tato”. “Uh, well then. Can I just order a provolone cheese sub on white? Mayo, Lettuce, Tomato, Salt and Pepper, and Green Bell Peppers.” I recited, knowing all too well what I usually ordered from the sub shop, near my home.

Bagel gave me a flat and confused look. “Uhmmm.. What is provolone?”

***===***

After failing to explain what holed cheese is to Bagel, I finally conceded and just took the only type of cheese, an off-yellowish colored cheese that smelled like dirty socks, and apparently came from something called a “Brahmin”, whatever that was, Shady, Anakvad, and I sat down in one of the window booths inside the shop. I listened to the rain pound against the window while I ate, until Bagel turned a small radio on and let it play from the shop's speaker system.

“-From multiple reports that the fledgling settlement of Sugar Grove fended off an attack by a group aligned with Red-Eye’s Slaver Army, based in Fillydelphia. Now, folks. Don’t freak out when ‘Ah tell y’all this, but we’ve confirmed that a team of Pegasi Enclave Troopers landed that very morning before it all went down. It’s rumored that two of’em helped take down an airship that was shelling the town. We also have reports of an encampment of them within the guarded walls, or patrolling the swamp. ‘Ah don't need to tell y’all ‘bout the Enclave, every creature knows what they are. So, ‘ah need to warn y’all. Sugar Grove has a sizable force of them just sitting in it right now. Though. They aren't doing a whole lot more than just guarding the place. Who knows? Maybe they’ve finally got their wings out of their asses and came down to help our lovely quagmire paradise.”*

I was astounded. There I was, being talked about on the news. Yes, he also threw a few underhooved comments about the pegasi who I left to guard the town, but. I was on the news.

“Did’ya hear that, ‘Cap?” Shady excitedly asked in between a bite of his sandwich.

“Yes, Lieutenant.” I said, annoyed. Sometimes, he can get too excited…

Anakvad smiled slightly. “Good. A formidable blow to my enslavers morale. Serves them right, Wanaharamu.” He said, before returning to his food.

I continued listening to the radio broadcast. This voice belonged to a Stallion definitely, but not DJ Pon3. This had a more country twang in his dialect. Akin to everypony else I had met around Appleachia.

“-And remember, my dear foals. If you see any floating caps in the many rivers, think twice about diving in to get your newly found treasure. Those Tackle-Lure sure do love pony-fillet. Now, some music. Here is “Gimme Shelter” by the Rolling Stones. Keep that dial tuned my dear foals.”

The music started up after the voice went quiet. To be honest, I was still trying to understand the mention of “Tackle-Lure”. I squirmed out of the booth, and made my way up to where Everything Bagel was washing a large saucepan. “Who was that on the radio?” I asked, wanting to know more about the many stations, apparently still operating down here.

“Hmm? Oh.” The green-coated stallion said, obviously not expecting a conversation. He remained viciously scrubbing the pan, not making eye-contact, but continued. “That’s Dial Turner. His broadcast is based out in Whinnington; A settlement called Skyscraper. It's the largest settlement this side of the Mountains if you don't count Sunnytop, but that's Raider territory.”

Good to know. Sunnytop equals bad. No go to Sunnytop. “Any other stations down here?” I continued.

“Really just the DJ. Well… There is Mr. New Haygus out in Caledonia, and Lonesome Pony near Salt Lick City, but other than that… Hmmm.” Bagel stared at the pan in deep thought. I decided to end the conversation there.

“No worries. I get the gist. Well, thank you for your hospitality. We’re gonna go and visit the other shops. See you around.” I said with a friendly smile and a slight wing wave.

“Nooooo problemo. Come again soon.” The young stallion said, before looking back at the pan, which by some miracle, appeared more dirty than it had started with. As we left, I swear I could make out Bagel grumbling as he restarted his scrubbing.

Making our way towards the gate where we entered, I paused at the next building next to Everything Bagels bakery, a general store, then entered after a second of deliberation.

The door opened, catching a bell and making it jingle. A radio softly played music somewhere in the back of the cluttered and crowded store. The shelves overflowed with all manner of tech, wires, and other mechanical doohickeys, into boxes and crates haphazardly strewn about the floor.

Shady took one look at the mess, before his eyes lit up and a large smile creeped along his face. Looking like a foal at a toy store, he took flight and instantly headed for the closest crate, overfilling with what looked to be copper wire coils. In his rush, he nearly ran me over, swerving out of the way at the last second with a “Sorry Cap’.”

I rolled my eyes, and followed Anakvad as he made his way to the right. We settled on the row, partially up against the right wall, and began pursuing its displays. It was mostly stationery items, office supplies, and the like. Though I lifted up a binder to find a collection of pre-war Captain Andromeda comics. I continued down the row, leaving Anakvad to study some tools on a rack, and went to find the source of the radio, as well as the soft voice singing along to the song that played.

“Sugar in the morning. Sugar in the evening. Sugar in the supper time. Be my little sugaaar, and love me all the time.”

I rounded the corner, avoiding some stacked cardboard boxes, and found the source of the singing. A blue-coated, yellow and green maned mare faced the far wall, semi-dancing, more like wiggling, to the music as she stocked a back shelf behind a counter.

Her mane and tail were frazzled and wavy, being swept off to the left side of her head. And by the fact she was placing candy-filled jars up onto a shelf without magic, I could tell she worked there, and was an earth pony.

I cleared my throat loudly. “Ma’am?”

She stopped singing and turned around with a smile. She did a onceover of me, before greeting me with a cheery tone.``Well Hiya! You must be one of those Pegasi from the flying boat.” She paused for a moment, then continued. “Well nice to meet’ya. I’m Party Mix.”

I nodded. “Captain Thundercloud. Nice to meet you as well.”

She grinned, before turning around and grabbing a jar of candy in her mouth and bringing it to the counter. She laid it down with a soft clunk. “Want a piece? I make it myself.”

I sauntered closer, looking at the candy within. They were small, hard, tube-like pieces, all colored the same way as her coat, and coated in a thin glazing. I thought about it for a moment, before caving and picking a green candy.

I must admit, I had zero confidence that the small treat was going to taste remotely edible. Still, I popped the candy into my mouth with a wing. The small green candy had a green apple flavor, and I was taken aback by the clearness of the flavor. After all, Enclave candy was either pre-war, or was crudely flavored to semi-taste like cloud-grown food.

“Goddesses, that's good.” I said, genuinely impressed.

Party Mix beamed at the praise. “Awesome possum! I know it's probably not like what y’all have up in the clouds, but every creature around here says I'm the best confectioner this side of the Shanendoeah River. See, I make all my sugar local, and get the honey from up in the mountains. Keeps my bright little store and candy counter running without worrying about finances.” She beamed again, and pranced in place.

“Interesting, but we came in here for a certain part. See, our prowler ran through a bad storm last night. Lightning struck one of the engines and all but destroyed its spinner, so we are looking for a replacement.” I explained, wanting heavily to change the subject from candy.

Party Mix “hmm’d”, before ducking down below the counter, only to come up with a translucent red clipboard, holding a huge stack of papers, in her mouth. She plopped it down unceremoniously, before taking three bits of candy out of her jar and chewing on them as she flipped through the pages.

“I may have what you want. But it won't be cheap.” She said in-between sucking on the sweets.

“How much…” I suspiciously asked, narrowing my eyes. I swear to Luna, if I got scammed by a filly no older than Shady…

“Mmmmm. Market value is…. Five-thousand caps. For a near-mint one. Only one I got. Sorry friend.” She said, presenting me with a nervous smile.

I had to keep my jaw from hitting the floor. “How am I supposed to come up with five-k?” I demanded.

Party Mix panta-mimed thinking for a moment. “Weeeeellll, I have some work you can do. And if you complete it, I can give it to you. Is that fair?” She asked.

Something tells me she had this planned out…“Depends on what it entails…” I replied, now suspicious of the kind of work a young mare can have for highly trained pegasi operatives.

She waved a forehoof in disregard. “Nothing too hard, I just need you to go collect some honey for me. Not super hard, I do it all the time.” She said, trying to give me a reassuring smile.

I narrowed my eyes. Something was not adding up. “Why can't you do it?”

Party Mix shifted nervously. My interrogation was working, huzzah! “Weeelllll…” She drew out. “I need you to go up to one of the caves at the base of Mount Snowshine. There, you need to look for dripstone caverns. Inside is where I think the honey is being made and stored.”

Made? Oh Goddesses, what was I getting myself into… “What makes the honey…?” I asked, doubling down. Charisma, don't fail me now..

Party Mix laughed nervously. “Well… An entire colony's worth of flash bees to be truthful. See, their honey is key in my candies. Not just for sweets, but to keep away Swamp Fever. It is bad around these parts, and highly deadly.” She paused a second to make sure I was following, before continuing. “I use it to help fight back against it. Always have, ever since Mom…” She stopped, before continuing. “Point is, the last time I went looking, they had moved their hives deeper into the swamp. Add to it, it is mating season for them. So they are… Let's call it feisty. I need you to get as much honey as you can without, you know, dying.” She gave me another uneasy smile, before waiting to hear what I had to say.

I wanted to say a whole lot… But we also needed that spinner. “Let my friends and I pick something else from your store here for free, and you got yourself a deal.”

I could almost imagine a tiny Thundercloud in my head throwing up a “wing guns” gesture and donning a pair of radical sunglasses, as she quickly shook her head and replied “deal.”

Excellent. Gold star for myself for bumbling my way through a trade deal. Never was really good with economics, my grades showed that much. I much preferred knocking down doors and smacking heads together. Shady, on the other hoof, much preferred the art of the deal over shoot shoots.

A large crash sounded, then a thud. Right on schedule Shady. Right. On. Schedule. I turned around, to just catch a purple and blue streaked mane breaking out of an avalanche of parts and two unfortunate shelves. Shady looked around, before catching my flat look of un-impressment. He smiled sheepishly, then pulled himself out of the mess he made, shook himself off once, and sauntered up to the counter.

“Heh. Sorry about that. Thought I saw a box of spark conduit’s.” He nervously laughed, and rubbed the back of his mane with a forehoof. To give Party Mix credit, she didn't really seem to mind.

Party Mix waved a hoof in the air. “Ah’, don't worry about it. I needed to clean this place out anyways. Names Party Mix. You must be a friend of Thunderclouds.”

Shady shook his head. “Mhm. Shady Skies. You've got a lot of tech here, mind giving me a manifest or something? I want to see if you guys have some parts on my list.”

Three minutes inside, and he already has a shopping list…

I cleared my throat, trying to draw the attention away from another episode of how it's made. “Lieutenant, this young mare here has a proposition for us. I have already agreed, but wanted to get your advice on it.”

Shady seemed skeptical, but nodded for me to continue. So I explained the job, allowing Party Mix to interject as she saw fit. Once I was done, Shady seemed to mull the plan over a few times.

“How bad are flash bee’s even?” He asked, somewhat apprehensive at the prospect of the colony guards.

Party Mix shifted her weight to her right side. “Alone, not bad. Worse case, you'll get a bad shock. Now a swarm however, that is the real danger.” A look of dread filled her face, as if remembering a pained memory.

“Any who, feel free to peruse my wares. Anything you see, just let me know and I will set it aside until you complete your task.” She smiled warmly.

I nodded, turning around only to get the shit scared out of me by a striped muzzle inches away from mine. I flew back from the sudden jump-scare, courtesy of Anakvad. How did I not hear him come up behind me?

“Apologies, my friend. I wanted to listen to the conversation.” He said with an apologetic smile.

I shrugged. “No worries. Find anything you like?”

He nodded once, before pointing at a small red tool chest, lying on the floor beside him. The small chest showed much wear and tear, with a considerable dent on the top, just below the mouth grip. The slanted roof closest to us bore the branding, Sawhorse Tools, with a logo inset around the curving name plate depicting the silhouette of a unicorn mare, holding a hammer and screwdriver in her telekinesis.

“Interesting find. I’ve never heard of Sawhorse Tools before, but nonetheless interesting. Place that up on the counter, and Party Mix here will hold it for you until we complete the job.” I motioned towards the counter Party Mix stood behind, the cheery earth pony waving. Anakvad seemed to debate the consequences of engaging in a protracted, more one sided, conversation with her, but finally picked the toolbox up with his mouth and carried it over.

I, on the other hoof, randomly picked an aisle and started down it, looking for something interesting. “Junk. Junk. Teddy Bear. Junk.” I chanted under my breath as I took my time lazily sauntering down the row. I paused for a second at something that caught my eye. “Wooden train that looks… burnt?” Who would want to sell that? I turned the train to its side, reading a message engraved in the caboose. Property of Button Mash. Whoever that was, found your train.

I continued down the aisle, hanging a right and started down another aisle. Most of the displayed items were tech related, nothing purely of note. The next row peddled plastic-y stuff like planters and cartons. It wasn’t until I turned down the next row that I found something of interest to me.

Hidden partially behind a plastic lawn flamingo and a molding cardboard box filled with vacuum tubes, was a rusty bin. Inside, a collection of yellow and dark gray parts sat, clearly once serving in a construction role, but being transformed into a weapon. I took the box out to investigate further, removing the parts and delicately placing them on one of the shelves. A metallic beam represented the “stock” of the weapon, being broken in half just in front of the trigger guard. The other half of the strange gun was mostly made up of a large cylinder, with an indented top, mounted horizontally on the frame. The cylinders' glass roof was cracked and broken, exposing the inner chamber. Blue wire was strung along the side of the chamber, which appeared easily soldered back together if needed. From the main cylinder, some sort of accelerator sat towards what could be considered the “muzzle”, transitioning into a smaller barrel, with two sets of three coil-like protrusions, arranged left and right, on the dorsal plane of the barrel. Struts, braces, and similar reinforcements were fitted to all sides of the broken weapon, giving it all a reinforced vibe.

Turning the broken fore-piece over, I squinted at some chiseling just under the latch attempting to read its message obscured by dirt and mud. I picked at it with a forehoof, finally flaking away enough so it could be legible. The message read, “Just like birds of a feather, pegasi stick together. Volare”.

I wasn’t sure if it was the previous owner's name, or the actual gun's name, but I liked the sound of it, remembering the lyrics of the similarly named song. I hummed the familiar tune as I balanced the box on my back up to the counter, where I slid it off. “I'll take this.” I said affirmatively.

Party Mix gave the gun, then me an odd look. “Are.. You sure? This thing has been returned so many times. Noone could ever get it working without shocking themselves.”

I shrugged. “They probably also did not have tools suited for repair of weaponry like this. I’m sure. Now, show me the location of this cave.” I held up my PipBuck to the counter and switched to the map. While only displaying three locations, Flatwoods being added at some point during our time here, the map showed little more than that, and some basic geographic lines.

Party Mix took, more like yanked, my forehoof towards her and “hummed.” She studied the map intensely, trying in vain to get the right location. “It is somewhere around… Here.” She accented with placing a custom map marker on a portion of a 2d mountain that embedded slightly. “But I need to warn you. Those mountains are dangerous. Anything can be up there. Hellhounds, Radigators, Gulpers, Trap-Jaws.”

She stood silent for a moment, looking apprehensive. “Stranglers. Those swampy mires are no joke. Plus, the Steel Rangers now. They have set up shop and love to come down to our town and harass us for tech. I've had them come in here a few times, trying to clean out my shop. They aren't the friendliest bunch.”

There is that term again. “What exactly is a Steel Ranger? I've heard that term quite a bit since I have been here.”

Party Mix was taken aback by the question. “Figures you wouldn't know. They are kinda like y'all. Fancy power armor and enough tech to end the world again. I've even heard that they have those flying machines you showed up in. Even an airship or two. Only difference is their armor is pre war. Old school sets like T-51 and T-45. Maybe other models.”

Party Mix thought for a moment, before continuing. “They have a massive boner for tech, and will almost always rob you at grenade launcher point for even a desk fan if they suspect you have it. If they don't outright kill you that is.”

“Sounds like raider activity.” I quipped. These “Rangers” appeared to be a bunch of assholes in outdated armor.

“Don't talk too loud. The Enclave doesn't have a very good rap sheet either.” Party Mix retorted indignantly.

I resignedly shook my head in agreement. I decided to change the subject. “Anyway, we’ll head that way soon and get your honey. Don't sell that part.”

Party Mix promised, and I took that as my cue to head back. Stepping out under the rain-hammered covered porch, I started back towards the town hall building with Shady and Anakvad following closely behind. That is until the zebra increased his pace and walked up beside me, whispering in my ear “we are being followed.”

I glanced over my shoulder but maintained my pace. Sure enough, a kirin of indeterminate sex was behind us. I must admit, I had no idea how to tell kirin gender apart as the only other time I had seen one was in a biology textbook from before the war. With the muzzle being smaller and more petite, I assumed it was probably a mare. Regardless, not really a cause for suspicion that we were being followed, could just be walking the same way.

“The kirin? What if it's just walking the same way as us?” I whispered back.

“Follow close.” Anakvad replied, then quickly ducked into an alley. The rain stung as I exited from under the cover, but I maintained my speed, making for a bend in the narrow passage where I believe Anakvad had gone. Truth was, he sped away so fast, I wasn’t able to see where he went.

Hoofsteps behind me and Shady signified that the strange creature was, indeed, following us. “Plan B”, I muttered to myself, and turned to confront our stalker.

“Hey! What's the big idea following us like that?” My voice carried down the enclosed space. The kirin stopped and cocked her head at my question. She said nothing, but continued her approach towards us.

Goddesses dammit Anakvad, where did you go? I was about to start treating this kirin like a threat.

As the kirin passed an overflowing dumpster, a streak of white and gray stripes emerged from behind a water tank, blocking its retreat path. “You should know better than to seem malicious, friend.” Came the exotic accent of Anakvad.

The kirin merely stared, emotionless, at Anakvad mere inches away.

Shady uneasily shifted his weight beside me, looking around apprehensively. “Something isn't right, Cap’.” Shady said, clearly displaying anxiety in his tone.

Now that he mentioned it, something was indeed not right, almost like we were being watched by unseen eyes. I did a periphery glance around the alley, though through the stinging rain it was very hard to really spot something out of the ordinary. A quick shimmer, probably unnoticeable to most, and too quick to process caught my eye for a second, before it was gone.

I did a double take, attempting to get a better look at it, but it was gone. “Fuck this” I muttered as I launched E.F.S. on my PipBuck. The lower edge of my vision was filled with a sea of yellow squares, representing non-hostile creatures as the spell matrix launched. Spinning around in a circle, I tried to catch a glimpse of any red marker hidden in the yellow.

I grunted in frustration, deciding there were just too many yellow markers, and fiddled with the range knob. A hoof full at a time, the yellow markers disappeared, until only four remained. That didn't add up… Two in front, the kirin thankfully and Anakvad. One beside me, Shady. So that means…

I spun and kicked at an approximation of the yellow bar, my hooves surprisingly hitting something hard in a place where nothing seemingly was.

“GAH!” The air yelped in pain, and from out of thin air a zebra mare fell to the ground, her cloak sloughing off just enough to clearly show her head and face. Her stripes were a mess, almost like they were drawn on by a foal. Each had different azimuths they followed as they snaked up along her neck. Around her neck, a piece of wood attached to a silver chain necklace, engraved with single male and female gender glyphs, glowed a dim red.

“Mahiri! Are you okay!” A stallion’s voice called out from behind me, just before the kirin pushed past me, kneeling down next to his friend. New info I guess, kirin stallions look like mares, which makes sexing kirins even more impossible…

“If you can speak…” I started, a hint of edge to my tone, “why didn't you talk to us instead of acting like a fucking creep?”

The kirin looked up at me with a diffident look. “That's something we all do. Well, the ones that haven’t taken the oath of silence anyways. Just a way to pull some creatures' legs.” He looked down at the zebra, now identified as Mahiri, with annoyance. “I was having a blast, until this one decided to sneak up on y'all. The hell were you thinking, goofy.”

I was about to, probably, retort with some smart ass comment, when Anakvad beat me to the punch. But instead of his anger being directed to the prankster kirin, he laid a dagger-filled gaze onto Mahiri. “Starkatteri! Nini maana ya kuwasili kwako! Uwepo wako uliolaaniwa peke yako unalaani mji huu!” Anakvad babbled, his tone clearly displaying malice.

Mahiri looked at Anakvad in confusion. “Uhhh. Translation?” Her question asked in a scratchy voice was addressed to no one in particular, but the kirin decided it was for him.

“I don't speak Zebrican, doofus. Of all the creatures in this alley, you are the only other one who would know the language.” The kirin said with indignation, before rising to his hooves, and offering me a hoof shake. “Moss Light. This idiot is Mahiri, and you may be?”

I rolled my eyes, but accepted the shake. “Captain Thundercloud, Ralneigh Enclave Intelligence. So tell me exactly why you thought it would be funny to wordlessly stalk two Enclave soldiers?” I looked at each of them, waiting for one to speak.

Mahiri was the first to talk. “I saw Moss Light stalking you fellers, and wanted to make sure he didn't get himself killed by accident. Hence the mist cloak.” Mahiri gestured to the invisibility cloak, obscuring her lower body.

Moss Light nonchalantly shrugged. “Again, trying to pull yall’s leg. But I actually did want to discuss something with your crew. Or detachment. Or whatever it is, look. Point is, Mixy probably told y'all there is a group up in the hills that aint too friendly towards our quaint town.” Moss Light finished, and looked at me almost expectantly.

I suspected his question, but gave him a look of non-understanding. “And we factor in this… How?”

Moss Light looked slightly peeved at the question. “Oh, don't play coy. It doesn't take an egghead to put two and two together and assume yall are the group that saved Blackwood's dumbass. That’s hyper apparent as y'all came in right behind him. Listen… I am putting together a militia of sorts. Mayor Wood has tried in vain to keep things diplomatic, but this type of situation requires…” Moss Light paused for a moment, searching for the right phrase. “A different sort of persuasion.” He flashed a bitter grin.

“So, you want us to go in there and clear them out? Is this… sanctioned by the mayor?” I asked, now suspicious of Moss Light's plans.

The kirin shrugged. “What she doesn't know won't kill her. Besides, she will be too busy thanking us to be that mad. And I’m sure, with a reasonable amount of eavesdropping, that y'all need parts for your boat. That Raptor is a treasure trove, even after all this time salvaging it. Whaddaya say, friend?”

Moss Light once more extended his hoof, which I now felt hesitant to shake. “Let us… Think about it. I need to run it by Captain Cloud Skimmer as it's his Prowler.” I said, turning sideways against Mahiri and Moss Light.

“Say, twenty-four hours time for an answer? This is happening with or without y’all. Those Rangers are going to pay, either way.” Moss Light said as I began to usher the fuming Anakvad and perplexed Shady away from the alley and back under the rain covers.

I nodded, but kept my pace. “I will give you an answer as soon as we make a decision. And do try not to sneak up on any more soldiers please.” I scolded.

He seemed to take it in stride, and flashed a grin my way again. “You got it, Thundercloud. I look forward to working with you.” With that, he returned back to scolding Mahiri.

As soon as we stepped up onto the covered porch, Anakvad let loose. “THEY DARE LET STARKATTERI INTO THIS TOWN. THEY HAVE NO IDEA WHAT SHELTERING ONE WROUGHTS UPON A GENERATION. NO WONDER THEY ARE UNDER THREAT, CURSED IS THIS ENTIRE SETTLEMENT, WE MUST LEAVE POSTHASTE BEFORE WE TAKE ON THE CURSE!” He pleaded with me.

“Anakvad, compose yourself and start over. You are making a scene.” I calmly ordered, continuing my journey back to the town hall.

Anakvad huffed, but restarted. “Starkatteri. She is cursed. Zebra history has a reason the one is not included with the other twelve. They dabble in dark magicks. Necromancy, soul harvesting, possession, spirit killing. They were the ones responsible for the Day of Doom, the very day the sky rained sun-fire and dark magic.” Anakvad said with a detached tone. He seemed very frightened at what he called a Starkatteri.

“This tribe, I assume? They were the ones who kicked off the Last Day? I thought it was the zebra's Caesar who did so?” I asked, puzzled.

Anakvad spat on the muddy ground. “It was their vote that broke the tie for the Last Caesar. Upon his ascent, he gave them power for their loyalty. That began the Night of Bloodied Stars. Many tribes moved to purge the Starkatteri from the homelands, wishing not to be slaves of Nightmare Moon.” He coldly replied.

“You mean Princess Luna. Nightmare Moon was vanquished by the Ministry Mares early on in their friendship. In fact, if I remember my history correctly, it was the catalyst for its formation. But what you just described sounds an awful lot like genocide.” I retorted. I was shocked that Anakvad could be this cold against other zebra’s. Especially after his enslavement.

Anakvad snorted in indignation as we crossed the covered crosswalk and neared the door of the government building. “Believe me. They have long since given up what made them equine. They have corrupted themselves entirely and without care for the other tribes. Genocide is not the correct term, if it applies to Starkatteri.”

I never knew zebras could be this intense. I decided to drop the subject, as it seemed to only cause Anakvad to either beg and plead for escape, or fly into rage.

Trotting back into the town hall, I looked around for Blackwood or Squeezer’s return from the office.

"Well now... I haven't seen a pegasus in a while. Salutations, my feathered friend." A voice to the right of me spoke with a raspy, all though spaced-out, tone.

I turned to identify the owner... Before my heart leaped into my throat. Anakvad stood confused as Shady and I soared high into the air. Bonus points even for managing to hit my head on the ceiling in panic.

Before me stood what looked to be a zombie from one of the old holo-movies. I could tell her coat was green at one point, though not as sickly colored, rotten, and mangled as it was now, giving way to twisted and deformed gangrenous muscles. Her face was sloughed, drooping far below her mouth like an old hound dog, and I could clearly see inflamed gums and yellow teeth from holes in her skin. In contrast, Her mane consisted of unkempt pink braids, with accents of nougat. The largest of which crowned her head like the rim of a hat. A faded yellow bandana, with a daisy pattern etched onto it, lay tucked inside the strange looking hairstyle. Her cutie mark was that of an apple tree in a heart pattern. Her amethyst-colored eyes tracked my ascent, and widened when I started for the small MEW pistol in my holster.

"My foal, no. I am not a threat. Calm down." She said soothingly. It did little but make me loosen my mouth's grip on the pistol's holster guard. "It is nice to meet yew..." She continued, "I'm Treehugger."

At the animate corpse talking towards us, Shady decided a hanging bronze chandelier was a great place to hide. I, on the other hoof, could do nothing but gasp, and jabber incoherently at the zombie pony. I'm sure if I was a lesser stallion, I would have wet myself.

About that time, the door to the office we were denied entry to opened, and Blackwood stepped out. He gawked and stopped mid step to view the events unfolding, causing the pony behind him to slam into his back. "WA'IT, WA'IT. THUNDER, SHE'S NOT'A FER'L." He screamed, causing me to break the fearful stare at Treehugger.

"Cal'm daw’n. That's mah' Maw-maw, Treehugg’ar." He said after a pregnant pause.

Treehugger smiled brightly at Blackwood. "Woody? I knew I could feel your vibrations. Come give me a hug, child." She asked, holding one forehoof up in a gesture of a hug.

Blackwood trotted over to his zombie grandmother and returned the gesture, before looking back up at me. “Thund’r…” He started in a soothing tone. “This’s Treehugger. Maw-maw, this’s Thunder. He’s frum’ tha’ Enclave.”

Treehugger narrowed her baggy eyes at me. “An Enclaver? Woody… What did I say about them?” She deadpanned, apparently not at all pleased at me.

Blackwood rolled his eyes in dismissal. “He aint one’a tha’ bad’uns, though. Hell, he help’d defend Sugar Grove. That's worth summ’thin in mah’ book.”

The zombie pony ignored his defense, but continued to deliver me a death stare. “And here I thought you were just a mercenary.” She said coldly.

I tried to form a defense, but it more or less came out as “eep”. My hooves trembled below me as I gently lowered myself to the ground, not daring to say anything.

Blackwood rubbed the nape of his neck. “Nev’r seen’a g’oul be’fur?” He asked. Upon seeing me vigorously shaking my head no, he sighed. “Well, makes’ense. A g’oul is ah’ creat’ure whos’ taken to’many rads. They’ve’ben changed, maken’um more’r’less immortal.”

He waited for a minute to make sure I was following his train of thought before continuing. “Well, maw-maw here’cn live’offa radiation now. Keeps’r health’y.”

Treehugger snorted. “Woody. Don't believe what the government told us, all of that stuff is dated to during the Great War. Besides, it's the aura of the forest that keeps me going.”

Crazy zombie mare…? Check.

The shock was beginning to wear off, but the sight of Treehugger was still heart stopping. Sure, the effects of radiation were well known in the Enclave, but to turn some creature into… This? How did the Enclave Science Administration not know about this?

The chandelier high above us shuddered as a unicorn on the second story attempted to pry Shady off, to no avail. He whimpered, and tightened a hug on one of the branches as it rocked back and forth dangerously.

My mind raced as I tried to comprehend what Blackwood had said. Immortal? How in Equestria is that possible? Nothing can live that long, it is scientifically impossible. “A… Ghoul.” I started slowly. “Is this a common occurrence down here?”

Blackwood nodded. “Most’r lucky not’tah be’come one. Rads’r ‘evry’wer, and’its hard ‘tah avoid’em. Most g’ouls are frum’tha war.”

“The war? Like…” I stopped dead in my sentence, dreading what I was about to ask next.

Treehugger's ears drooped and as she hung her head low. Her voice came out naught as spaced-out as it usually was, but solemn. "I saw it happen."

Blackwood draped a hoof around her neck, and softly said, “Ya’ don’ hav’tah talk about’it, maw-maw.”

Treehugger sadly smiled, and one of her forelegs over his in response. “I think it may shed light onto my condition, woody.” She drew in a long, raspy breath, then continued. "I was heading for Canterlot on the train. Fluttershy wanted to discuss the national park's initiative I was setting up to preserve the Appleachian Mountains over lunch.”

She looked up, though seemed to be looking through me as she continued. "Canterlot wasn’t too far away, maybe eight kilometers or so, when the train halted suddenly at the peak of the last hill over the mountains. Out in the distance, I saw a brilliant green light take over where Cloudsdale would have been. Then, the Royal Palace and Canterlot was covered by a large, pink, shield right as another contrail broke through the clouds. All we could do was watch in horror as the missiles broke through the clouds, just to be stopped by the shield. We thought..." Her voice wavered, and her eyes began to change from amethyst, to milk white as the tears rolled down her deformed cheeks.

She drew in a ragged breath. "We thought they would be alright. I met the Princesses once before the war, at the Grand Galloping Gala. They were so powerful, so regal, so wise beyond their years, surely nothing could harm them. The shield looked to be strengthening in the middle of the overhang. But all it was was that. DAMNED. GAS." She roared.

I could have sworn I saw what she was talking about, reflected in her glassy eyes. She wrenched them closed and shook her head, causing me to look around the room to find everyone in presence wincing back or starting for a weapon. All this for a bit of rage? Overreacting much?

She opened her eyes again, to reveal them to be the amethyst color once more. "The shield fell, but that gas stayed. Some say ponies still live in the Stable under that Tartarus-damned city. I don't know how. But if they do, they are stronger than most.”

She sniffed back some tears, before continuing. “The train went into a panic. Some jumped off and began running back down the hill we had come from. Some sat in shock. Some sat there watching the death of Equestria. Do you know what I watched?” She turned her fiery gaze towards me. ”I watched as blue-clad forms of Equestrian Skyguard began pushing large clouds together. It took. Two. Hours. Two hours for the Equestria I loved to be reduced to ash and covered by an unyielding cloud layer, forcing us to brave the cold weather without the sun. Three days later, the snow came. Not just the regular first day of winter unpacking snow, but snow that was glowing that damned green. Some drank it, thinking it was fine. I was one who did. We thought the pamphlets claiming to boil radioactive snow were true, they weren't. Most died who did, they were the lucky ones. I became like this." She said, gesturing herself with her forehooves.``

“I'm-” The words faulted in my mouth.

She rolled her eyes. “You are going to say “I’m Sorry”. I’ve heard that countless times, and I’m plum tired of being pitied. The way I see it, you serve the very organization that sealed the death of the world I cared about.”

“What am I supposed to do then?” I angrily returned. “Last time I checked, I am not two-hundred and thirty. I wasn’t around for the Last Day.” I scowled at the ghoul.

“Ight, both’ov yall.” Blackwood interjected. “Thund’r, mom wants’tah speak with’ya. Best not’tah keep’er wait’n.” Blackwood gestured to the ajar door that he came out of.

I shifted my gaze around the room one last time, before muttering “excuse me”, and moving my way to the door. Inside, the dim office smelt like my grandparents' house. An aromatic smell of aged wood and whiskey. Atop a fancy, decorative desk, a terminal bathed the room in its greenish glow, illuminating a far wall covered by books and their shelves.

Behind the desk, a mare sat. Her nougat coat was similar to Blackwoods, though her mane was that of a faded gold, with strands of silver clearly showing her age. Her eyes sported crows feet, and she squinted and studied Shady, Anakvad, and I over a pair of black reading glasses perched at the end of her muzzle. Pressing her forehooves together, and reclining in a puffy desk chair as we took our seats in front of her, she silently looked over us, almost like a principal to a group of trouble-making school foals.

Now that I mention it, she really resembled my principal from my younger school years…

“So-” Her deep country twang rang out. “ Yall’r the ones mah’son told’me about.” Her voice had an interrogative edge to it, and she seemed to be building up to something.

Blackwood walked into the office, and quietly shut the door with a click. “Mom, this’s Captain Thundercloud, Lieutenant Shady Skies, ‘nd Anakvad.”

She nodded cordially to each of us as our names were called out, before clearing her throat and introducing herself. “I’m Written Memo, but you may address’me’s Mayor Memo. Or Mayor Wood. Tell’me, what brings’ah group’ah Enclavers tah’ mah’ little town?”

“Our ship was damaged sometime last night, and your son offered an easier and quicker solution than returning back to port.” I explained. “We need a certain part, and we believe the wreck you are salvaging has it, so I am sure we can come to some deal?” I added in my most formal-sounding voice.

Written Memo tapped her forehooves together in thought, before making a satisfied noise and nodding. “I’ll tell y'all what…” She started. “If yu’can do somethin’ fur’ me, I’ll get’cha what’ya need.”

I nodded. “Thank you. But we have already been promised the part in question by Party Mix if we complete the job she gave us. Perhaps, we could take a few extra parts just in case?”

The mare chuckled dryly and shook her head. “That mare. Always lookin’ fur’a trade deal.” She sighed heavily. “I reckon’ we c’n do that. Now, onta’ mah’end. You’see, Flatwoods is’a major exporter’f timber. All across thah’old waterways, we ship’ur lumber tah’ any who buys. In’order tah’ do this timely’n efficiently, we’use tha’ lumberjack variant of’tha Protect-A-Pony.”

She paused, motioning out the window. A single file line of the familiar yellow equine robots walked down the road towards the bridge, their orange rotating lights lit and spinning. Though, a notable difference was the metal utility saddle on their backs, sporting a buzzsaw-tipped mechanical arm.

“Usually, they cut’n we load. But hard tah’ do’it when you’re gettin’ harassed’by ponies’n power suits. ‘Bout five days ago, they came down from tha’ mountains. Claimed we were pros’pectin’ their shit, ‘nd forced us tah’ stop salvage ops on tah’ Raptor so they could set up shop. Now, I'mma reasonable mare, but when y’all push out first claimers, and proceed tah’ steal our bots’n steam tractors, that's when’I approached’em with a quarrel.”

I nodded in understanding.“So, you want us to go in and clear them out?”

She shook her head. “Not with violence. That’kinda force would mean retaliation against’us. I want’yall tah’ talk with their leader and tell’em to leave in peace. We don't want no trouble, but they’re gettin’ aggressive.”

“Hmm, understood. I do have to warn you though. I was approached by a kirin earlier who wanted to recruit us for the same reason, just more… Violently.” I honestly explained. I felt it was the right move, as Moss Light could do something rash.

Written Memo rubbed her temples and groaned. “Moss Light…” She said through gritted teeth. “If he wasn’t mah’ best guard, I’d strangle his’nec.” She sighed. “I’ll talk with’em.”

I was about to ask some finer details on the group's strength, when the world outside erupted in an ear-splitting alarm. Mayor Memo flew out of her seat, muttering about “bastards” and threw the door open. I followed behind her, with Blackwood, Anakvad, and Shady in tow, out through the lobby and onto the covered boardwalk.

Even through the howling rain, the origin of the siren was apparent. An old air raid siren, mounted atop a church steeple, screeched its eerie song. A green unicorn waved one of her arms at Written Memo, then pointed out towards the bridge. Memo understood the gesture, and took off that way, dashing from under the covers into the rain, down the road that the Protect-A-Ponies took, and to a guard booth just on the edge of the bridge.

As we neared, I could make out the last dregs of a report, given to the mayor by a gray earth pony. “~commin’ from the hills. They should be here any moment, but have’em hot on their tails.”

Written Memo nodded, then turned to me. “Ah’ need ya’ to fly up’n tell me what ya’ see.” She offered me a small radio jack, which I plugged into my PipBuck and paired with.

Ominous questions aside, I did what she asked, climbing high against the searing rainstorm until I found a suitable perch on top of a low floating cloud, just high enough to make the ponies below me look small. I pulled the brim of my service cap lower to shield my eyes from the rain, causing the helmet to shift slightly forward, and scanned the horizon. Up into the mountains, a steady stream of smoke made its way towards the town. The source of the smoke was made clear when a steam tractor, carrying a flatbed cart laden with logs, came screeching down the hill. The olive-colored unicorn operator glanced behind him as he neared the bridge, clearly searching for what was pursuing the machine. As the tractor crossed onto the long bridge, another tractor raced after it, this time holding heavily armored and armed soldiers.

One of the power armor-clad ponies leveled a rifle at the fleeing machine, but hesitated. No shots rang out as the rangers slowed to a crawl, then a stop, just a hoof step away from the bridge. By this point, the tractor had made it to our side of the bridge, and had stopped to talk to Mayor Memo.

I keyed the headset up, intently watching the harassers. “I count five of them. Two in T45 model armor, one in T51 model, and two in underbarding.” I half yelled into the headset. Not that it mattered, as the roaring of the rain and wind drowned out any sound outside of a few meters at most.

“Keep’n eye on’em. We’re workin’ tha’ issue.” Memo’s voice responded.

I squinted against the rain. The rangers idly sat, though conversing amongst themselves. Lighting lit up the sky silhouetting a dark, imposing shadow, managing to catch the attention of a cobalt-colored unicorn stallion, wearing one of the sets of orange under-barding. He pointed towards the Eye, and the group's attention was shifted towards the moored cloudship.

Upon another session of conversing, the rangers loaded back on top of the tractor, and putted away. I made sure the vehicle disappeared into the thick forest line, before coming off my low lying perch and floating to the ground.

The olive-colored unicorn huddled under a raised guardpost, talking with the mayor. Naturally, I trotted up to them. Besides the stink eye I got from him, he continued talking. “We got about sixteen logs b’fore they came. One of tha’ Protect-A-Ponies warned’us first, giving them the usual spiel of’a protected worksite’n such. Didn't matter, they’d already popped tha’ spark grenade.” He shook his head, and groaned in frustration.

“ ‘ny casualities?” Memo asked, a spark of hatred in her eyes.

The unicorn shook his head. “Not besides tha’ bots. A few’ove tha’ crew wanted tah’ go for their weapons, but ‘ah told’em not to. Not after Briar Light.”

Both of them looked solemn. I assumed it was the name of an unfortunate soul, but couldn’t be certain.

The unicorn brushed his wet, rust-colored mane out of his eyes, and assessed me again. “Whos’tha’ jarhead?” He asked, not breaking his gaze on me.

“Thundercloud.” Memo responded in a flat tone, gesturing towards me. “He’s apparently’a friend’a Woodie. Helped’em out for Sugar Grove.”

I nodded. “Took down an airship with my two-eye-cee here in the process. A bunch of slavers showed up to… Sack the town. We all prevented that.” A half truth. Though one better than causing a panic.

“Mmmhm. And ‘ahm sure yall Enclavers did’it out’tha goodness of yalls heart?” The unicorn snidely retorted.

“They had something of ours that we wanted back. We achieved that goal, and leaned back the help given to us in our time of need. Anything else?” I professionally returned.

The unicorn “hmph’d” but relented. “Ah’ assume yall are bein’ contracted to take care’of’em?” He sighed. “They’re up at tha’ crashsite. Give me’a day tah’ get mah’ supplies restocked, and i’ll take’ya up there.” He extended his hoof towards me. “Iron Shard.”

I shook it, then turned to Mayor Memo. “Do you think any residents would be willing to aid us in talking with them? If they see we have a larger force, they may accept the offer.”

Written Memo nodded. “‘Ah can think’f a few. Imma call’a all tha’ guards together, see’f anyone wants tah’ help. Fur’ now, go’n rest. If’ya need’a bed, tha’ inn’s gotcha covered. Not that yall probably need one since yall got that warship.”

Her demeanor had softened significantly. A sure sign she was warming up to me and the others. “Thank you for the kind offer, but we need to head up into the hills for Party Mix. We won't be gone, long.”

===***===

Location: Other end of the Clopawha River Bridge, Route 19. Equestrian Wasteland

Time: 14:40 Equestrian military time

As we moved off the bridge and up the road, the forest was eerily silent aside from the downpour. Still, we moved quickly, not wanting to remain in the rain for longer than we needed. Blackwood shifted and attempted to scratch an itch underneath the harness he wore, connected to the wooden wagon he pulled. Shady and I flew above it, keeping pace with the impromptu convoy, while Anakvad sat in the back, clutching his rifle and attempting to use one of the large raincoats given to us by the mayor as a cover. Squeezer trot merrily aside Blackwood, humming softly to himself as he kept watch.

The path was long, taking roughly an hour and half to navigate. Finally, we reached the turn point, a Stable-Tec billboard, still proudly displaying the image of a line of ponies, waiting to enter a Stable. We hung right, entering a trail road that led into the dark forest.

I will say, with the cloud cover blocking the sun already, not much light gets into the thick, swampy forests that reside within Appleachia. So when I say dark, I mean dark. The kind of dark that loves to play tricks on your eyes, made worse by the raging thunderstorms.

I flicked on the headlamp, mounted to the left of my helmet, and was surprised to find that it illuminated little. I huffed, but kept scanning the area. Shadows danced as the light caught the ominous trees and what grew on them, making the world around us seem like a scene from a horror novel.

I flew ahead, wanting to study the large trees. Their “bark” actually consisted of slimy, red vines. They hugged every inch of the tree, almost as if they were embracing it tightly.

“I wouldn't get too close, bud.” Squeezer commented as the cart crew passed by me. “Those aren't normal vines, nor are they ivy.”

I backed away, and caught up with the cart. “What do you mean?”

Squeezer jerked his head in motion to another vine-covered tree. “See how they grow? Those are Strangler vines. Though they seem harmless, they can, and will, infect everything. Including unfortunate creatures that get within their or their minions grasp.”

I went wide-eyed. “Let me get this straight…” I started. “Those vines are infectious. Like… a virus?”

Squeezer nodded. “The science-y types have an old ponish name for it, but we just call it the Strangler virus.”

We rounded a corner, and avoided another set of the strangler vines, this time bridging the gap between two trees like a spiderweb. “Not much is known about it. It starts by ingesting, or inhaling, spores from what we call pitchers. You will know them by the clouds they emit, and the yellowish lights they produce. Well, if these spores enter your brain, it's over. Around seventy-two hours after initial exposure, you develop mood swings, then amnesia, then enter a catatonic state. After that, well, you change. You aren't…” Squeezer struggled with the word for a moment, before continuing. “Equine, anymore.”

“How so?” I pressed. Squeezer only shook his head.

“It affects ev’rypony diff’rently.” Came the gruff voice of Blackwood. “Usually, it’s bloodshot eyes. Act’in jumpy’r aggressive. That sort’a thang. Lasts’a few days at most, till tha’ body starts growin’ mushrooms’n shit. It varies frum’there, but all infected have vines’n shrooms growin’ frum’em.” Blackwood finished, still staring ahead.

I stared at another passing tangle of vines in shock as questions ran through my mind. The most prevalent of which being why anyone still lives in the region and how did this happen? This was wrong and dark. And definitely something the Enclave would want to know about, to attempt to vaccinate against. Or to cauterize it before it spread further.

“How long has this been occurring? And how far does it reach?” I slowly asked.

Blackwood stopped, confused. “Tha’ Enclave don't know?” I shook my head and he groaned in frustration. “What’da’ yall know’then. This place used’tah’ be’a forest. But tha’ swamp took’it ‘round fifteen years ago. Tha’ virus is tha’ swamp, ‘nd vice-versa.”

My head swam with questions. The swamp was… Alive… And voraciously expanding across the land, perhaps even Equestria entirely. The Enclave had to know about this. I brought my PipBuck up to my face, and rolled one of the knob’s at the bottom of the frame, until I reached the info tab. One button click, and another twist of the dial, allowed me to begin recording my thoughts to the audio recording spell.

“Log: One. Captain Thundercloud on… Exploratory… Mission below the cloud layer, Appleachia region.” I stopped and thought for a minute. The lie was necessary in the case of capture of my PipBuck for whatever reason, but where would I even begin? I decided to retail the story from the start, beginning on the day we first went below the curtain.

Around the forty minute mark of us being across the bridge, Blackwood stopped us with a raised hoof and “shh”. He unhitched himself from the cart quickly and quietly, and then crouched forward, rifle in tow. He lay prone for a few minutes, before signaling us to come closer. I flapped up into a particularly leafy tree canopy, and rested atop a thick branch. The perks of having flight magic after all…

“Hear’that?” Blackwood grufly whispered. I strained my ears, attempting to catch the noise he was referring to, though the swamp echoed with typical bird and swamp creature noises.

“What?” I hissed back.

“Tha’ buzzin’. Its’a swarm ah’ reckon’.” He replied, still scanning the dark perimeter, with a look of terror on his face.

I listened again. Sure enough, I managed to separate the typical swamp noises for a faint buzzing noise, accompanied by a noise similar to zapping. I traced the noise to an unremarkable tree, covered in a blue-stripped, yellow-ish bark.

Wait a minute…

I squinted at the strange tree. Sure enough, the “bark” was actually tens of thousands of small insects, scuttling around the tree. My heart jackhammered against my chest as I watched a swarm take flight, and move as a cloud of blue and yellow lightning, perpendicular to our position.

When I got back to Flatwoods, Party Mix was dead…

“Nah” Blackwood muttered, then pushed himself backwards. “Nope. Not’fuggin with that’.”

I rolled my eyes. “Blackwood!” I hissed. “Ignore the bugs for now, concentrate on the honey. We need to follow them back to their hive, ok?” I tried, in vain, to keep the orange stallion from high tailing it away from the swarm.

Blackwood shifted uneasily in the mud, clearly fighting his flight instincts. He whimpered, but relented, picking himself up and hitching back up the wagon. Slowly, we tailed the swarm through the rough terrain, to a sheer cliff face. The weathered stone jutted out in jagged points, allowing enough of the swampy terrain to cling to the vertical face, obscuring the mouth of a cave behind some lichen.

The flash bees pushed past the lichen, singing it as they passed deeper into the cave. I gave the swarm a few minutes to delve deeper within, before I motioned for my companions to follow. We exited the lush and swampy undergrowth, into a sparse clearing, all the while listening for signs of a new swarm, or the previous one, approaching. “Alright…” I started, turning around. “The honey is in that cave, so we need to go in, collect as much, as fast as equinely possible, then make a quick exfil back to Flatwoods. Easy peasy, livin’ breezy.”

The small pep talk didn't dissuade Blackwood's nervousness. He rocked left and right, shifting his gait and eyeing the cave. He chewed his lip, and pushed his ears back. “Ah’ll stay here’n protec’ tha’ cart. If ‘nythin’ comes along, ah’ll hollar.”

I shook my head. “No good. I need you there. The cart is fine by itself, but we are going to need all hooves on deck to gather as much as we can. Put your Entomophobia behind you. I know you are scared, but I need you to focus up.” Hopefully, that would spark Blackwood to focus.

Blackwood blinked, then raised an eyebrow. “Endo moe... Wha’?” Blackwood confusedly asked.

It’s amazing how fast my hoof soared up into my face…

I rubbed my face, trying to rub away the frustration. “Fear of bugs.” I admonished. I stomped my hoof, regaining my train of thought. “C’mon guys.” I ordered with an undertone of dread to my tone. I brushed the lichen away, taking notice of the bright orange berries, just barely glowing. Inside the space was pitch black, even for the time. I flicked my helmet lamp and PipBuck light on, doing little to illuminate beyond a few meters ahead of us. We all filed in, feeling the sweltering heat and stinging rain being replaced quickly by the cold of the underground. Navigation was tricky, the path being blockaded by an obstacle course of stalagmites and stalactites. Finally, we exited the tightly packed collective, and began to walk down a slope.

Shady flew up to a long stalactite, and broke the tip off, gazing at it in wonder. “Woah…” he trailed off, before turning to the broken end to face us. “These things are packed with gems.”

Sure enough, a huge ruby gleaned dimly in my helmet's light. I scanned the walls and ceiling of the cave. Everywhere my light touched shined with rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and other colorful gemstones. It looked like a jewelry store with the amount of precious metals and jewels this one single cave held.

Blackwood whistled quietly, awestruck at the discovery. Squeezer, on the other hoof, salivated. I could even have sworn his pupils changed to look like the bit symbol.

“Focus on the task at hoof, guys.” I said, still scanning the glittering surface of the cave. “If we have room in the cart, we may be able to take a trip or two of these, but let's not be greedy. I'd rather not get stung.”

Anakvad studied a stalagmite in the far end. His forehoof raised to his mouth in thought as he leaned in closer. After a moment of this, he lashed out and punched the rock. Shockingly, it shattered with a loud roar. Too loud in my opinion as the rest of us squinted our eyes, and clenched our teeth, shrinking down against the noise. Anakvad fished around in the debris cloud, before producing a gemstone colored a kaleidoscope of all different colors, looking like it was dipped inside a Rainbow Factories vat.

“Tourmaline.” He said, inspecting the rock. “I had no idea it occurred here. Back in the homelands, it occurs regularly, and wards off negative emotions.” He said, near distant in his words.

I lightly stomped on the stone floor twice, eliciting a clop clop from my hoof. “Honey…” I reminded them. Before they could protest, I flapped up into the air, and began to move again.

Bleep came the soft sound of my PipBuck. I halted in midair, to see what the arcano-device wanted, and read the prompt quietly.

Connection to cloud layer waystations lost : Attempting reconnection… Updating info…

Piece of shit… Cant stay connected to the antennas in a small cave… I shook it, smiling slightly when it began to reconnect. Leave it to Enclave-made PipBuck's to mess up when you need them most.

The PipBuck reconnected, displaying an updated map now of the cave system’s many, branching corridors. “Huh,” I softly exclaimed. I rolled the dial, focusing the map closer to our position. The title of the cave read flash bees’ cave. Real unique name, PipBuck… Following the path down on screen, the corridors branched out three ways, two of which double backed on themselves connecting to each other in their long, snaking, paths. The last one, situated to the very left, led back and downward a few hundred meters before dead-ending in a semi-circular chamber. If I were a hive of territorial insects, that’s where my hive would be.

I moved further back, now very much aware of the buzzing noise, coming from deeper inside. The air grew hotter, brighter, and thicker, a stark contrast to the coolness and pitch blackness of what we had been walking through. Light dimly cast from a corridor, jutting to the left at a near-ninety degree angle, so as a precaution, I peeked around it first. My face was hit with a wave of heat, worse than the humidity of the swamp outside. The next thing that got me was the smell. I gagged and retched silently at the odor of rot and decay, mixed with a sickly sweet undertone, no doubt produced by the millions of bees in the chamber. They were everywhere. On the walls crawling or sleeping. Buzzing along to whatever their task was by themselves or in their typical swarms.

“Wha’cha star’in at?” Blackwood whispered from behind me.

I pulled my transfixed gaze at the sight of the super hive, and backed up a few steps. “Our death…” I wheezed. Strange. I was suddenly out of breath.

Blackwood groaned slightly, then stifled a cough. I grimaced as a few barking spasms escaped before he was able to quiet it. Thankfully, the insects seemed to not notice, or care enough, to respond.

“Les’hurry’up ‘nd get’out. I’ve gotta’ headache.” Blackwood stated in a low tone. He dropped low to the earth, and began to army crawl towards the closest collection of blue striped hives.

Something was off, though I couldn't piece it together. My thoughts felt clouded from behind my own forming headache. I rubbed my head, attempting to piece the puzzle together.

*Beep Beep*

My PipBuck’s subtle beeping felt like a symphony being played in my ears. I pulled my foreleg down, and read the message displayed slowly. Warning! Blood O2 levels: critical. Seek medical attention, immediately. Warning! Ozone detected. Reach, minimum safe distance, immediately.

I coughed as I finished reading the message. My eyes widened as the message finally processed, and I hissed Blackwood’s name. Upon him turning his head, I motioned for the group to retreat. We retraced our steps, up the decline, and back to where Anakvad’s tourmaline lay abandoned. The fresh air felt good, and I closed my eyes as a small breeze caught my coat and wings.

Blackwood and Squeezer gulped up a few greedy breaths, before asking what happened.

I showed them my PipBuck’s message, before adding “flash bee’s. They emit electricity, therefore creating ozone. It’s a dead zone down there.”

Squeezer grumbled, “Party Mix, you moron,” as he sat down in a huff. Blackwood rubbed his face in apparent stress. “So’.” He started. “How’da’ we get dow’n ther’e?”

I took a moment to clear my head and think. The overwhelming amount of ozone around the hive not only posed an asphyxiation risk, but also a fire hazard. Ozone was too flammable, especially for the use of conventional firearms or Shady and I’s plasma weaponry. “Truthfully? I have no ideas. If we go down there, we can suffocate. If we cook off the ozone, we could burn to death.”

Shady rubbed his head as he flapped in the air. “We can go back to the Storm and grab some respirators.” He offered.

I shook my head. “That would push our time schedule back further. Better to order them and have a verti’ drop’em off. “

“It’ll take’a bit tah’ get’em loaded. Then’ they’gotta find’us ‘n all this shit.” Blackwood debated. I couldn't argue with that logic.

Squeezer shifted uncomfortably on his rocky seat. “I could try and throw up a shield, but I’ve never actually managed to perform the spell.”

I nodded. “If you think you can do it, try.” I encouraged the teal stallion.

Squeezer sighed, and stood up. “Here goes nothing.” He muttered. His face scrunched up as he strained. Sweat ran down his forehead as he shook, the light at the end of his horn growing brighter and brighter by the second, until the aura dimmed completely as he gasped for a pained breath. The teal unicorn fell to the ground, laying his head on a soft patch of displaced dirt. “Sorry Thunder.” He softly apologized. “Can't do it, and I think I just burned my magic out.”

I nodded solemnly. “No worries, Squeezer. We’ll find another way of doing it, it's better than hurting yourself, anyhow.” I turned to look around the mouth of the cave. Aside from the rare raindrops making their way into the cave, and the gemstone-encrusted cave formations, the mouth offered no solution to our problem. I glanced deeper into the cave, thinking deeply. While it was a stretch, that U-shaped passage could perhaps hold honey, or something that could help us get it. “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” I sighed. “Shady. You stay here with Blackwood and Squeezer. Anakvad, let's check that other passage. Maybe the colony stores excess honey in there?

Anakvad, up until this point, had been gathering more tourmaline, stashing the colorful stones in one of his jumpsuit’s pockets. The zebra dropped down from atop a rather thick stalagmite from where he had been reaching for another gemstone, and followed me back deeper into the cave, gemstones knocking together in his pocket as he moved. At the branch, we kept straight, following the beam of light emitted by my PipBuck and helmet-mounted lamp. The natural corridor continued to snake back, seemingly being a portal to a void.

I squeezed past a few formations, and stepped on something that cracked with a brittle tone. I looked down, letting my lamp shine over a strange, slender, brownish-white rock. That rock led to another, and another, and to… A ribcage.

“Goddesses!” I exclaimed, jumping off the skeleton. My heart beat against my chest, as I shined my light, illuminating the final resting place of some pony. My examining light made something glint in the gloomy, dark passage, in between where the intercostal muscles would have been normally. I stooped down to the remains, letting the light shine off a brass badge that read “Equestrian Environmental Protection Agency”.

I continued up, finding the skull. A prominent bony spire in the centerline of the forehead, signified that this skeleton was once a unicorn. I paned my lights around the area, looking for more clues. One of the poor ponies' for-legs jutted sideways, still clutching a military-grade saddlebag. A good place to look as any. I took care to sidestep off the remains, crouching down beside the saddlebags. A small name-taper on the flap identified the owner as CPL Starburst.

I looked back at the remains of what I assumed was Starburst, remembering the sad sight of Sergeant Muffin's final resting place, back in Sugar Grove. Never mind that now. Focus on the bag. Inside, most of the space was packed tight, the largest item being another olive-drab colored bag, emitting a purple-ish aura. That perplexed me, and I inspected it first. My heart leapt at the text labeled onto the bag.

Equestrian Civil Defense. M9 field protective mask.

I flipped the bag around, searching for wear and tear. Nothing. The bag seemed to be protected by a spell of some sort, most likely a protection charm, though its effects were fleeting at best. Now, for the real test. I undid the button, and flipped the cover off. The mask was still nestled inside. Gingerly removing it, I checked the seals and single filter . Both were sealed and showed little signs of degradation.

Breathing a sigh of relief, I sat aside the mask, peering back into the bag. There were three cans of hay, all sealed tight with no bulging. The same couldn't be said for the fourth can…

A can of Chef Ponyardee ravioli had exploded, coating most of the bottom of the canvas in sauce refuse, long molded and dried up. The flakes of what was probably ravioli disintegrated from even a slight touch, so the prospect of cleaning up the mess was put aside. Next to the ravioli bomb, a small black orb rolled slightly at the shifting center of gravity.

I had only seen them in the Enclave’s tech identification manuals, so the surprise was felt as I realized the prize I had uncovered.

A Black Opal.

I fished it out, scraping what amounts of the chalky refuse as I could get away. The small, black, oval shined ominously in my flood lamp as I turned it over. I took a quick look back inside the bag, searching for its cradle, a device called a Recollector, but no dice.

Softly, I stowed it in an empty bag of mine, making sure not to damage or scratch it. I shifted the rest of the bag around, the remaining items all appearing worthless. I was about to sling the bag, and make for our impromptu base camp, when a flash of pink on yellow caught my light.

Obscured under a collection of pens and a notebook, lay a small figurine of a yellow pegasus mare, with a pink mane, and meek smile. Her cutie mark, a collection of three pink butterflies, instantly identified her.

The unremarkable black base of the Fluttershy statuette, displayed an inscription upon it. Be Pleasant

I felt a rush of… Something, as I pulled it out. It felt strange, like a wave of compassion and kindness washing over me. But it also felt familiar, like your mother hugging you. I stowed it alongside the rest of my newly acquired equipment, and turned to leave.

As we walked back, I glanced at the time. 16:56. It would be dark soon, and I would rather be back in the safety of Flatwoods before whatever creature decided that roast pegasus sounded appetizing.

My hoof slipped on a rock, and I lost my balance for a second, causing the rock to tumble noisily back down the packed earthy slope. Blackwood lept out from behind a stalactite, leveling his gun towards me for a second, before snorting and lowering it.

“Problem?” I asked, as I passed by a makeshift barricade of rocks.

He sighed. “Mak’n sure’no critt’rs ambush’us. Been’hearin rustl’in from back towards tha’ hive.”

I shook my head, but called everyone over. I opened my pack, and showed them the mask. “Only one I could find, but it's still damn lucky. Who is the most stealthy here?”

Anakvad gingerly raised his hoof. “That would be me. I can collect as much as I can, as long as the cart is close.” He said in his exotic accent.

I nodded, but warned him, “One trip. We need to leave and fast, before night fully falls. Blackwood, go grab the cart. Shady, you guard the entrance to the cave.” I looked at Squeezer, he looked very weak from the attempted spell. ‘Squeezer, stay where you are and rest. When we get ready to leave, do you think you can hold what we can get still with magic? We are probably going to have to exfil fast if we are to make it back before sundown.”

Squeezer half-heartedly nodded, though looked unsure. It would have to do, I reminded myself, before passing off the mask to Anakvad.

The plan went well, and Anakvad successfully entered the inner chambers, moving like a ghost. It helped that most of the Bee’s were fast asleep, tucked together in bunches on the sides of the cave walls and honeycomb. The stealthy zebra bounced from unoccupied comb to unoccupied comb, taking chunks out and back up to the cart, managing to get well more than what would be acceptable for Party Mix… After I got done kicking her flank for neglecting to mention the flash bee’s surprise gassing. The only problem occurred when Anakvad went to fish around in the last hive for another suitable chunk of honeycomb. From the top of the slope downward to the hive, I could hear Anakvad yelp, then scramble out and up the incline.

I was confused, but on high alert. A good thing too, as a hive followed him up… Wait a minute…

Not a hive, I realized, as the legs pumped faster and faster, threatening to trample the zebra as he neared the top. Vaguely resembling a flash bee, but impossibly large and grotesque, the large bee appeared to be inter-mated with a large hive, riding aloft on its back abdomen. Its wings vibrated angrily as it caught sight of us, and I cursed loudly as Anakvad threw himself into the cart. The creature was too close for an unaided shot, so I did the only thing I could do. I took flight, and followed the cart as Blackwood sprinted at full force back outside, alternating cursing and praying as he went.

“Just make it outside.” I growled to myself. I made the mistake of glancing behind me, finding the creature an uncomfortable distance between us. Flipping over in midair, I drew my plasma defender, and booted S.A.T.S. The spell threw me into the strange never-never land of time, and I took a moment to breathe and clear my head. All though in this slowed down/sped up time, I could still make out the beast hot on my flanks, I scanned the beast, now identified by the all-knowing PipBuck as a flash beast, and settled on its head as the target for my shots.

Satisfied, I dropped the spell and let the shots go, enjoying seeing the plasma splash against the flash beast’s head. One of its mandibles fell limp, like an appendage that needed amputation, but yet it came still, buzzing increasingly in anger.

Funny how fast I could fly when a large bolt of lightning, far larger than what I observed being discharged by the bee’s, ripped precariously close to my head, toppling a rock formation.

“Screw this…” I exhaled as I accelerated, pushing all my strength to beat my wings faster. The dim, rainy light was close to hoof now, and our fleeing convoy tore out into the rain. The creature continued, following through the overgrown terrain. I didn't see the armored ponies until we were right on top of them, bowling over them in our frenzied escape. The wagon, and Blackwood in tow, caught air and landed upright with a shattering crash. I had the fortune of colliding with a lightly-armored unicorn.

The indigo-colored pony shook himself off and regarded me for a moment, then registered what team I played for, and backed off. “DON'T MOVE!” He yelled, drawing a laser rifle in a red telekinetic aura.

The flash beast came next, making a bee-line, no pun intended, to an earth pony in a set of worn T51 armor. The iron-pony went down, and had little time to spool the oversized minigun on his battle saddle, before being torn apart by the rampaging creature. The other Steel Rangers yelled and engaged the creature, only enraging it more. A blast of lightning microwaved a mare to the side of me, while the unicorn decided I could wait, and engaged the foe.

“BACK TO THE CAVE!” I yelled, and tore off the way we came from, followed closely by the rumbling of the wagon, Blackwood's curses, and the report of Squeezers pistol and Anakvad's rifle. The rain stung as I blazed a trail towards the cave, finally seeing it close.

The fur on my coat stood on end, before I felt my body light up with pain, followed by a loud clap of thunder. I fell, and rolled into the cave, hitting a rock and coming to a sudden halt. My coat smoldered, and I felt my consciousness begin to fade. I watched briefly as Blackwood halted the cart, called after me, then together with Squeezer, sent some shots into a bush. Blinding bolts came from the wood line, and struck Squeezer, then Blackwood. Both went down, and were pulled into the cave by Anakvad, and Shady. Then, the world went dark.

---***---

“Why~”

“Why couldn't you save us?”

---***---

I gasped, and sat up, panting from the all too familiar night terror. Every nerve in my body felt frayed, and it hurt like hell to shift. The only light now came from a flickering campfire, close by. A shadowed form moved over, and I could make out the stripes on his muzzle.

“Here, drink this.” Anakvad said, laying a ceramic mug, most likely appropriated from Shady’s bags, into the grasp of my hooves. I stared at it, swirling the steaming liquid inside a few times. It smelt like tea, of some sort.

“What is it?” I asked, looking into Anakvad's worried gaze.

Anakvad semi-smiled and rose. “A healing brew we use in the homelands. Similar to a healing potion. I wasn’t able to gather all the ingredients due to the foul beast, but Bullion and Blackwood both agree it does not taste as bad as one might think.”

He trot back over to the fire, plucking a stick up in his teeth and stirring something around in a cauldron-shaped rock. Shady silently flew over, and sat in front of me, the fire casting a dim light over his worried gaze.

“Got that ass, huh Cap’?” He said with a shaky tone. He snorted awkwardly. “ ‘You doing alright?” He finally asked.

I swirled the drink once more, then took a sip. It tasted like rosemary, and sort of settled my nerves. “I’m fine.” I coughed. It hurt like hell. “How are Squeezer and Blackwood?”

Shady glanced over at them around the firepit. “Squeezer got it worse. Something about magic seeking magic. Blackwood is fine, just singed. You all have some pretty gnarly scars though.” He finished by pointing at a bandage, covering my left flank, just above my cutie mark.

I could just see a jagged line, stretching up away from the bandage. I winced at the sight, and looked away. “Let me finish this, then I'll make sure the coast is clear. If it is? We book it for Flatwoods." I said, still attempting to ignore the stinging of the wound.

Shady shook his head. "I got this, Cap'. Stay here." He flapped upwards a few meters above the cave floor, and began working his way, slowly, to the mouth.

"Are you sure, Shady?" I suspiciously asked. "That thing got me good. Not to mention Blackwood and Squeezer..."

Shady waved a forehoof in unconcern, cutting me off. "Relax. I'll be fine." He turned back to the mouth, hesitated for a moment, but relented and slowly flew up. Grabbing a hold of the wall, he peaked out quickly. His headlamp illuminated the dark canopy as he searched for the damn bug, but everything seemed normal. Well… Normal for an apocalyptic swamp.

Satisfied, he cautiously moved outside, landing in the middle of the clearing. He squinted in the dark, and did a three-sixty, making sure to cover all angles, before turning to face us. "It's clear. They left."

ZAP!

The blackness lit up for a moment as a bolt of lightning hit Shady square in the back. I got a great, almost cartoon-like, look at Shady's skeleton as he fell to the ground, smoldering from the discharge from the Flash Beast, hiding somewhere in the void. Blackwood sent a few unsteady shots down range, forcing the creature to retreat further into the swamp with a buzz, as Shady scrambled back inside the cave with us.

Shady's blackened form coughed a trail of smoke, before smiling with charred teeth. "Belay that..." He said, grimacing. “Sleepy time.” Shady’s form fell to the ground, out cold.

“Fuck…” I growled, and gripped Shady under his forehooves. I lifted myself into the air, and half-flew, half-dragged him over to a collection of rocks where Anakvad stood, grumbling in Zebrican.

I watched as the zebra tended to him, and thought of an escape plan. That damn bee had us pinned, with no way to exit without facing it. Smart bastard… I turned to Blackwood, who had himself now propped up against a rock, staring intently down the sights of Whisper.

“Blackwood!” I hissed. He sorta half-turned towards me, while keeping an eye on the mouth. “Any ideas on how to get past that thing?”

He shrugged. “Hell’if’ah’know. That thang’ is gunna’ cook’us if w’leave. Check Shady’s bag fur’ some’thin’, I dunn’o.”

I shuffled away, and began to riffle through Shady’s bags. Aside from the cup, I pulled out and arranged various tech trash, a hoof-full of pens and pencils, five bits, an empty Sparkle~Cola bottle, and some MF cells. Nothing spectacular per say, but it would have to do. I groaned at my lack of engineering know-how, but began to attempt to form some kind of plan.

Anakvad strolled over, and leaned down next to me. “Any plan on escaping?” He asked, still watching Shady’s knocked-out form. I shook my head, but kept thinking.

The zebra made a funny noise, and rose. “Sometimes…” He said as he returned to Squeezers side. “The best laid plan consists of the simplest solution…”

An hour later, and with me fumbling all the while, Shady came too. He now sat nearby, watching as Blackwood and I hefted the broken wheel of the cart, blown free by the flash beast, and remounted it on its axle. I held it while the earth pony hammered a warped nail back into its slot.

“The’r.” Blackwood grunted from behind the hammer held firmly in his mouth. He rose from his squat and backed up, surveying our work. Turning his head to the side, he spat the hammer out onto the trodden earth, and cracked his neck. “Now, remi’nd me again what tha’ plan' is.”

I pointed to the cart with a wing. “Simply, really. Roll the cart out as bait. When the bee strikes, we can pinpoint its location, and potentially do enough damage to make it flee. Then, grab the cart and beat hooves back to Flatwoods. Best case? We kill it. Worst case…” I paused for a moment. “We piss it off more.” I shrugged.

Squeezer cackled from the corner. “I LOVE this plan! It will definitely go down as one of the plans of all time.”

I rolled my eyes. While not as complex as I would have liked, I trusted Anakvad’s advice. “Alright.” I sighed. “Blackwood and Anakvad, get behind it and get ready to push on my signal. Once we all see where the blast comes from, dump your ammo that way. Hopefully, we will be out of this miserable cave soon.” Anakvad and Blackwood moved into place, facing away from the cart. I made sure to triple-check the digital readout, mounted to the side of the plasma defender held in place by my closed mouth. While I topped off the charge, I only had a hoof-full of spare energy cells to fall back on if one cell wasn’t enough to bring down the monster. I pushed that thought back, and took a deep breath. I nodded towards Blackwood and Anakvad, and with a resounding CRASH, the wagon was bucked forward and rolled freely. It gained speed heading downhill, and I began second guessing myself that the plan was a bust, until a bolt of lightning flew after it. It hit the wagon, blackening a side and splintering the wood in a huge chunk.

There you are, you bastard…

I charged out of the cave, and spun around. Sure enough, the fucker was crawling along the slanted cliff face above us, seeming confused that its prey was not near the cart as it rolled. It had just a moment to register it had been duped, before it began buzzing its wings violently and emitting sparks from its lightning bolt-shaped stinger. I clenched down on the trigger bit, and felt the heat wash over me as the plasma erupted from the barrel. The first shot missed, but the follow ups hit, burning its abdomen in many places. Despite the pain it probably felt, it managed to release the pent up discharge and send a bolt towards my head, missing by an inch or so, and igniting a small fire at the base of a bush, which was promptly extinguished by the torrential downpour.

Pfft Pfft Pfft Pfft Pfft

Whisper sing-songed its muted melody, hitting the bee and shearing off one of its antennae. The beast turned, and rushed Blackwood. It got within a few meters, before it collapsed and slid the rest of the way in the slick mud, Blackwood having to dive out of the way. There it rested, unmoving. I checked my PipBuck, no EFS tag, it was dead. I exhaled in relief, and holstered my pistol.

A quiet calm set in, only broken by the roar of rain. There it stayed for a few seconds, before I broke it by asking, “every-pony ok?” Blackwood rose, looking like some muck monster, and dead-checked the bug. Pfft. One in the head. The corpse shuddered as Whisper’s powerful round tore into flesh and exoskeleton. He spat a glob of mud onto the ground. “Ah’m good.” He breathed heavily. “Fuck all in’sec’s. Ah’ mean’it. Can't stand’em at’all.”

Couldn't argue with that… “Come on.” I hurriedly ordered. “We need to get back before the hive comes a’looking.”

With that, Blackwood hitched up the cart and off we went. Shining my lamp around the pitch-black swamp, I led the way, only supported by my EFS. Red blips appeared and disappeared rather frequently, so naturally, I was very much on edge and high strung. The shadows danced as I illuminated the path ahead of our little convoy, and I tried not to look as we passed by a power armor helmet, laying in a pool of blood in the middle of the road. I know I shouldn't have, but I felt bad for the Steel Ranger patrol, eviscerated by the rampaging bug in hot pursuit.

Blackwood’s beam of light from a mouth-held flashlight swept over the swamp nearby, and I caught a short glimpse of something taking cover behind a tree. Something vaguely equine-shaped. I halted, making the non-attentive Blackwood run into my flank. He began to reprimand me, but I shushed him with a wing.

The swamp was silent… Not the normal silent, accented with the call of nesting birds. This silence was deafening, not even the insects chirped. I recalled the mantra in my head, drilled into my head by my survival training instructor, “In the absence of sound, predators abound.”

I crouched low, intently listening for any signs of movement. My ears could just make out the sound of a faint gurgling noise. Blackwood must have heard it too, as his eyes got wide. “Douse y’ur light…”

I, confusingly, obliged; Letting the darkness blanket us again. The smell, I noticed first. A putrid smell of rotting plants, and flesh. I gagged, but tried to keep myself quiet. After a few moments, the gurgling got louder. Wet, sloshy, hoofsteps crossed what couldn't have been more than fifteen meters in front of me. Multiple of them, in fact. I struggled to control my breathing as whatever passed by us, did so loudly. For ten minutes, we could only stand still as whatever was around us, searched for us. It sounded like the swamp was alive with the sloshy sounds, clicking, and gurgling, almost wheezing, sounds of the unknown creatures. Eventually, the sounds resided, and stopped all together. After a few minutes more, birds began chirping again.

I panted heavily. “What… What, was that…?” I said through gasps. I clicked on my light again, and found my group all looking pale and distant. Blackwood shivered uncontrollably, casting quick, nervous, glances around the terrain. “Strangled…” He said quietly.

I blinked. “What?”

He paused for a moment, then proceeded to dive for a ditch and retch loudly. I gave him some space as he vomited, drawing near to Squeezer.

Squeezer also wore the look of sheer terror upon his face, his usual joking mannerisms gone for the moment. “You have no idea how close to death we were just then… I am guessing that it was a new horde. If it were vets…” Squeezer didn't finish that statement. I understood completely where it was going.

“So… Those were ponies, infected by the swamp?” I asked, trying to wrap my head around it. I have to admit, I was feeling sick myself now.

Squeezer nodded his head slowly. My breathing quickened, and I began snapping to shadows in the trees, making sure the horde was not returning.

“We need to get back… Now.” I ordered. Blackwood, now appearing green, managed to drag himself to the back of the wagon, and crawl into it. He lay down with a grunt, but remained staring into the distance. I sighed, and began to hitch myself to the cart. “Shady, break time is over. Hitch yourself next to me. We are going to fly the rest of the way home.”

The passengers, including Shady, groaned at that, but resided themselves to a rough ride. Shady flapped up next to me, and began hitching up. Once we were secure, we spread our wings and began to gallop, attempting to gain speed. The rain stung as we ran, but we continued, aiming for where the road pitched down to launch into the air.

“Cap! There’s light in front of us. Moving fast!” Shady exclaimed over the rain. Sure enough, a ball of light was approaching us, though it was probably the other way around.

I slowed my gallop to a trot, then all together, as the source of the light came into view. I unharnessed myself, and drew my sidearm, pointing it at the ominous glow. It appeared as if the light occurred from everywhere, but nowhere at the same time. The source of it, unknown, until the cloak came off. Mahiri stood there, lantern in mouth, looking at us with a worried expression.

“Thank the stars, we were worried about you.” She sighed as she sat the lantern down. “You need to hurry!”

I reupholstered my pistol, and attempted to ignore Anakvad's angry breathing, now doubt preparing for another verbal onslaught. “Why?” I hurriedly asked. Whatever it was, it wasn't good to warrant Mahiri, and probably others, looking for us.

“A group of Rangers showed up a bit ago. They are trying to get into town hall, wanting the Mayor to bring y'all to justice. Something about killing a patrol.”

Fuck… I rubbed my neck. “It wasn’t us, per say.”

Mahiri’s eyes widened. “Y'all killed a patrol. Fuck!” She cursed under her breath, though sounding more scared than angry.

I shook my head. “We got chased by a huge ass bee. It followed us out of its cave, and chased us until we ran headlong into that patrol. They tried to take us prisoner, but the bee slaughtered them.”

“Better it kill them, than us, accursed one. Or do you not agree?” Anakvad piped up, practically spitting his words. He jumped down from the cart, and stormed over to us, practically getting muzzle to muzzle with the strange zebra.

“ENOUGH!” I yelled. Probably a bad idea at the time, but I had to break them up before he did something he regretted. I stomped my hoof. “Anakvad! Mahiri! Get in the cart…” I spat, before re-harnessing myself. Off we went, the cart bouncing as it rumbled faster and faster, until we caught the right breeze under our wings, and we rose into the stormy air. I am pretty sure Mahiri screamed, though I wasn't sure if it was in fright or in excitement. I didn't really care though, all I heard was the roaring of the rain, and my heart beating loudly in my ears.

We neared Flatwoods fast, the tiny houses growing in size as we began to descend. “AIM FOR THE BRIDGE!” I yelled to Shady as we flew on. It was the perfect runway for our laden cart. A gust of wind rattled the wagon, and Blackwood rose a meter out of the bed. Gravity had enough of that instantly, and he slammed back into the cart, yelping as he hit. The bridge loomed up ahead, and we hit the ground running. The lone sentry must have thought we were the grim reaper, pulling his hearse, as we rocketed by his post. We stopped abruptly, and I threw the harness off.

I looked at the townhall as I galloped towards it. One of the doors hung limply to one side, showing that the Rangers had broken their way in. I growled as I flew up the steps, only to be greeted by a revving minigun, from a pony in power armor…

FOOTNOTE : LEVEL UP! PERK OBTAINED: ENTOMOLOGIST. YOUR ENCOUNTER WITH THE FLASH BEES HAS GIVEN YOU INSIGHT INTO INSECT BEHAVIORS. YOU NOW CAUSE 40% MORE DAMAGE TO RADROACHES, BLOAT SPRITES, FLASH BEES, SPIDERS, AND ANY OTHER CREEPY CRAWLY.

Author's Note

Well, well, well... I definitely dropped the ball with this one, making y'all wait and all. Sorry about that, life is shit right now, but I tirelessly type away anyway. with the return of King Somber (brand pending), I hope that this may be the herald of the FOE fandom's rise again. But stories require a lot of effort to be put into them, and this one is no different.

In other news, I will be down at Marefare 2024 in a few weeks, so if you see me, feel free to say hello. I promise I wont bite... Okay, maybe a little. Maybe just a nibble or two?

I would like to thank my editor, Miky, as well as my friends, Xythis, Silent, Sharps, Maple, Williams, Squeezer, TexasBlueWolf, King, and Mecha, for putting up with my insane, equine-related, ramblings. Y'all truly keep me together. Thank you. And to Kkat, Somber, Heartshine, and all else who slave away, carefully weaving great stories for readers enjoyment. And finally, to you, my readers, who put up with my disappearances, but remain standfast until I throw another chapter out.

See you next time! ~Thundercloud