Ripples

CHAPTER 8

Complications

        Suddenly, I was in Captain’s headquarters at the base. How did I...? I was in another one of those pod things inside an indent in the wall. The walls opened automatically, and I stepped out. I was exhausted, and I was starting to feel those shots. Turning around to look, I saw a flash of blue light, and then Captain was standing there, in his red and black Rebel armor. He walked out, trotted to that ultra-comfy couch, lifted the cushion and pressed a button that was under it. The wall actually slid closed over the pod thing.        “Never told you we have magic defenses, did I?” Captain said, breathing heavily but grinning. Gunfire was still audible, but I had confidence in Captain’s forces.        “Well, this...complicates things. A lot,” Captain said.        I coughed. “You couldn’t have known that would happen, why were you there?”        Captain put the cushion back on the couch. “As soon as you got out of eyesight of our base, they attacked from inside Fillydelphia. At first, there were only a few, so you didn’t hear the guns. When we thought it was over, another wave came from the other side, bigger this time. I knew you were in trouble, so I came out as fast as I could.”        I sighed. “Did you know there would be an alarm?”        Captain frowned. “No, I didn’t know there’d be any kind of danger, really. Nopony has occupied or needed that room since PT took over. I just needed some information from it, that’s all. What worries me, though, is how all of those Resistors got inside Fillydelphia, especially that building.”        I tried to sit on the couch, but the pain from the bullet wounds shot across my flank, and I let out an audible “Ow!”        Captain walked towards some cabinets. “Take those saddlebags off, I need to bandage those.”        I followed his instructions obediently and painfully. You know, getting shot really hurts. After he bandaged be and gave me another healing potion, we looked through the bags.        Captain smiled. “I’m surprised none of this was stolen or broken by now, it’s been about two hundred years since these were last used.” He patted me on the back with a hoof. “I think we could call the mission a success.”        A loud explosion rumbled the military encampment. Captain frowned. “Probably not good. After we fight them off, this is going to need some serious investigation...we have the borders of Fillydelphia very heavily guarded, the chances of a Resistor getting in there is very slim,” Captain observed. “I think I should go out there and help them. Do me a favor and stay here while I go take them out.”        I nodded. Waiting, again? I sat down in front of our collection of loot. Why do I always have to wait? I looked at the folder. I know Captain told me not to open it, but...what else could I do? I looked towards the entryway. No ponies there. I smirked.        As I tried to open the folder, papers scattered everywhere, some sliding under the couch. One caught my eye, however. There was a photograph of three young adult ponies; a yellowy orange pegasus, a white unicorn, and a yellow earth pony. They wore fancy business suits, and each had a golden badge labeled “CMC”. They stood in front of a large fountain in a place that almost looked like Fillydelphia, except...living. I focused on the background. Ponies trotted around, the fountain sprayed water, and everything was so bright and happy. The buildings were spotless, and everypony looked happy.        Was that what the world was like? Who were those ponies? I examined some other papers. Most of it was a bunch of technical craziness I had no capability of understanding, but occasionally some words would stand out. The “Persistent Pony Project” appeared several times, on multiple papers. What was that?        I was about to start messing with the laptop when I heard another large explosion. I couldn’t tell if that was our turret firing or our turret exploding, the thing was loud either way. Should I go out and sneak a peek at the battle? Well, boredom does not have an easy cure, so I decided to go out just to look.        One of the turrets was charred and smoking, with an unconscious soldier behind it. The other turret was not occupied, and the walls of this base had many holes, bullet and explosion. A firefight was taking place in the field between the base and Fillydelphia, with about five ponies from each side. Dead bodies littered the field, also from both sides. I could hear cries for help, and many things were ruined beyond repair. Tents were flattened, equipment destroyed, ponies killed. I stood with my jaw agape.        Who did this? Who killed all of these ponies? WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE?        I began to cry. I laid down on the grass, burying my face in my hooves. I sobbed. The world was a terrible place. I had seen too much. I was beginning to break down completely.        “Loste!” sounded Captain’s voice from nearby. “We have to get out of here, come on!”        I lifted my head. My vision was obscured by tears, but I could see him standing by his headquarters.        “Cry later, but we have to run. Now,” he said, and tried to nudge me up. I just wanted to lay down and die. Why did ponies do this?        “Get. Up. Now,” Captain said, pushing his head under me with each word. He stopped and sighed. “Please,” he asked. “We’ve never been hit this bad. I’m begging you, please, don’t leave me alone.” Captain was begging, he was desperate. I had never been cared for like this. Somepony actually cared about me! I slowly got up to my hooves, and blinked the tears away.        “Thank you, Loste. Thank you,” he said and turned around. “Now come on, let’s go!” Captain began galloping away from Fillydelphia. I followed.

~ ~ ~

        Captain and I sat around a fire, we had found refuge in a small cave. We had been walking for hours, until finding this place. We decided to stop for the night.        “We need that data,” Captain finally said after hours of silence. “Eventually we have to go back.”        I sighed. “Why does it matter?”        Captain looked into the fire. He was silent for a moment, and then spoke. “War is a terrible, terrible thing.”        I took a bite of the berries Captain had picked on the way here. These berries tasted different, but they were equally delicious.        Captain let out a long, slow breath. “War is not caused by nature. War doesn’t just happen. Ponies make it happen.” He took a bite of his own berries, chewing slowly. “War only destroys us. We do not benefit by killing each other. We should not solve our problems by fighting.”        I swallowed my berries. “Why did you start the Rebellion if you did not want to fight?”        Captain’s face became a sad frown. “I didn’t start it.” He walked to the edge of the cave and laid down.        “Who did?” I asked. He remained silent. I was getting tired anyway, so I stretched out and slept by the warmth of the fire.

~ ~ ~

        “Think of a better name than Loste, yet?” Captain asked as we continued walking. When weren’t we walking long distances and talking about the world? We’ve sure done a lot of that.        “No,” I responded. “I still don’t feel like I really belong. I’m very lost, and my name accurately represents that.”We were desperately looking for conversation to pass the time. We did not know exactly where to go, but we were heading towards the nearby city of Baltimare.        “Baltimare is a strange place,” Captain mentioned. “The ponies aren’t like anypony else. Most of them stay hidden in the buildings that haven’t crumbled, working on some kind of crazy project only they know about. They only leave to find food, and Baltimare was a major food exporter, so they rarely have to leave the city. Ponies who don’t already live there typically stay away. This almost worries me, as it sounds like the perfect opportunity for a Resistor troop to establish a base of operations.”        I snorted. “You really don’t know much about the Resistance, do you?”        Captain sighed. “Mostly just what they broadcast. Luckily, we keep very secretive as well, but it still doesn’t help that we don’t know shit about them.”        “How do you plan to stop them if you know nothing about them?” I asked.        “We just look for any opportunity we can do hurt them without suffering too much of a loss ourselves,” Captain said with a sad frown.        I looked at our latest installment of ‘distant settlements we’re walking towards’. “Baltimare honestly sounds a bit boring. What would we need to do with them? Doesn’t sound like they’d be willing to trade.”        “We don’t have to go there if you don’t want to,” Captain decided. “We could try Dodge City. They have a nice weapons dealer, and as far as I know they’re fairly friendly to strangers.”        “I don’t see why not,” I said and looked in the saddlebag Captain brought for me. “All we have are pistols.”        “I knew I should have spent a moment to grab better guns,” Captain exclaimed. “What is happening to us? We used to be the mighty Rebellion, the unstoppable force. And then we just get pummeled out of nowhere, in our own base!”        I trotted closer to him. “Don’t look at what you lost, Captain. Look at what you could become.”        Captain smiled.