FA+
Shop
716
Views
Views
6
Favorites
Favorites
Category
Artwork (Digital) / My Little Pony / Brony
Species Horse
Size 1052 x 621
File Size 200.7 kB
Report this content
More from MintyCandy
I shook my head, trying to recover from the shock of this bombshell dropped on us. Okay, so we've got four aircraft flying around with enough firepower behind them to put Twintails' old TOG to shame... great. I flipped the switch on the back of the terminal off, the screen flickering to black. "So... you think this is just some sort of automated response from blowing up all the security here? Maybe they're just set on some sort of autopilot for base security, or something, right?" Night Strike offered, not sounding particularly confident.
"I don't know... even if it was, there must be something bugging the system up or they wouldn't keep circling the wasteland," I said, standing myself up from the chair and gathering up the blueprints, stuffing them into my saddlebags. "And if that's true, they're going to run out of fuel eventually or something, right? Who knows where they might land and who'd get them then." Night Strike grimaced, giving a small shake of her head as a reply. Giving one last worried glance at the empty hangar, we trotted over towards a small door, opening it to reveal a dusty workshop. "Well, hey, at least we might find an engine here."
Beginning to dig through the discarded metal and tools, I pushed a skeleton in a tattered jumpsuit off of a work bench it had been leaning on - ech, sorry buddy. I opened a closet, jumping back as various tools fell to the floor with a clatter. You'd think ponies pre-war would've at least organized their stuff better... "Hey, you think this might work?" I glanced over to Night Strike, catching her leaning against an engine half as big as she was, smirking a little.
"I think that'd probably get Trout up to Mach 4 if it didn't sink it to begin with." Myself letting off a small chuckle, we stepped through another door labeled 'storage', Night Strike fiddling with a switch before the overhead lights flickered on, the room filling with a low buzzing. We trotted down the aisles, staring at all the various pieces of machinery placed on the shelves. I picked up a two way radio, looking it over as Night Strike continued to search for an engine. Blowing the dust off of it, a good bit of shaking got the cobwebs loose, myself letting off a small cough. Well, looks to be in good condition, and it wouldn't hurt to have a transceiver handy.
I slipped the somewhat bulky device into my saddlebags before continuing to scan the aisle. I slid a bottle of sarsaparilla out of my pack and popped the cap off, taking swig as I caught up to Night Strike. "I think I found something that'll work." She turned to face me, nodding her head towards the engine behind her. "It looks about the same weight as the one inside Trout, and it's a similar enough model we could probably do an overhaul on the old one if we absolutely had to." I nodded, taking another gulp of soda as I grabbed a small trolley to carry the engine on.
Night Strike and myself both carefully lifted the heavy engine onto the trolley before starting to head back towards the others. As we trotted back to Aerith and the mini-tank, we could hear a large clatter, a metal-walled wagon being pulled by the power-armored unicorn, a grin on his face. "Lookit what we found between two o' the hangars, ought to work for haulin' any of the guns here, right?"
"Should be a perfect size, c'mon, we'll show you where the guns we found are." The pegasus mare beside me let the handle of the trolley clatter against the side of the mini-tank, myself grimacing at the small scratch left in it. Come on, Night Strike, I know we live in a wasteland but that doesn't mean you can treat stuff like that... She paused for a moment, thinking. "Oh! Right, ahm... I think it'll be safe until we come back out. Aerith, did find some rifles for you, if you want to do a bit of shopping."
Myself giving a roll of my eyes, we led all of them through into the hangar, making way for the long racks of machine guns. Night Strike and Aerith kept moving on deeper in towards another weapon rack, leaving myself and Scouring to start loading up the wagon - okay, let's try to not get yourself buried again, Static... "Bloody hell, these guns look like they were outdated before the bombs even fell. Same caliber, though, that's useful..." The unicorn began moving a few of the steampipe-guns onto the cart, myself moving over to pick up a few of the smaller, more gun-looking machine guns. Plenty of ammo boxes to go around here, least one per gun, which is nice...
After getting the cart loaded with the assortment of machine guns and .30 caliber ammunition, we moved on to pick up the autocannons, the sun starting to really hide itself behind the far mountains. Stopping inside the bay that once held the mini-tank, myself and Scouring moved inside the little area connecting the two hangars, the unicorn understandably impressed by the sheer size of the guns. Moving them all out one by one, Crash Dive busied herself by securing in the first assortment of guns, and picking up a black toolbox and a few of the same wheels that were on the tracks for the mini-tank - good catch, almost forgot about the extra parts for that thing.
Grunting under the weight of the first few guns, Aerith and Night Strike eventually showed back up, the alicorn wearing a wide smile and a new rifle as her magic helped move the rest out and onto the cart, along with a few more crates of ammo, and eventually the new engine. I let off a heavy sigh as we moved back out through the door, trotting to the seat of the half-track and pretty much collapsing in it, resting my back. Goddess-damn, those cannons are heavy... hopefully they're worth their weight. Or, at least, I'm sure I could convince somepony that they're worth their weight... The back of the wagon clattered as Scouring climbed himself in and secured it, Crash Dive with him, Night Strike and Aerith taking place on the back of the mini-tank. The power armored pegasus cleared her throat, getting settled on the back of the wagon. "Right, so, just for reference, what've we got here?"
"We got an engine for Ripple back at Maple Creek, along with the anti-air guns for Hopeville and whoever else needs them, and a few guns for Trout too. Hopefully it's enough for that blabbermouth gunsmith to give me those caps back..." Night Strike grumbled to herself a little as she settled herself on the tank. "And... uh... we think we might've found what those things are that've been flying around the wasteland." The others paused as she said this, passing some uneasy looks. "They're some sort of aircraft like the Valkyrie. It's got mounted tesla cannons and VTOL capability, might have missiles too. No megaspells at least..." Night Strike gave an uneasy chuckle.
"Let's just get these things over to Hopeville for now. It wouldn't hurt to save one or two, though, my lighthouse isn't exactly bomb proof..." Crash Dive let off a small grunt as I nodded and switched on the tank, starting to make way to the road heading out. The mini-tank's small engine complained a little from the extra weight, but managed to keep us moving forward at a steady pace. Alright, let's hope we don't need to kick this into high speed. I turned off the path as it approached the forest, preferring to take the slightly longer route around than worry about trying to maneuver the trailer around any tight bends.
Night Strike leaned against Boomer as we trundled across the open field, the guns rattling against each other in the back and daylight fading fast. As we made our way around the forest, I could hear a few shouts from ahead of us. Crash Dive sat up, her harpoon cannon letting off a small thunk as it loaded, myself squinting to try and see what was the cause of the noise. As I did, through, something large suddenly swooped down, causing me to lean back out of fright. Night Strike, Scouring, and Aerith were suddenly sitting at attention, trying to look around the hill where the thing had landed. As I made to turn away, a jet of flame shot into the sky, its bright blue base tapering off into a deep orange at least thirty feet in air. A silly grin crossed Night Strike's face, her eagerness to blow more things up quickly overcoming any sense of self preservation she might have had. Oh, this can't end well...
The engine rumbled even louder as I twisted the handle, the trailer bumping along behind us. Scouring opened up Sunburst, a small scope sliding out for him to use. The mini-tank struggled up the small hill between us and the fight that was breaking out among the raiders and whatever had just landed, the sound of crackling fire and gunshots ringing through the air. The land began to level out as we reached the peak of the small hill, giving us a view of the valley before us. My jaw dropped as my heart jumped to my throat - oh, just our luck.
Down in the valley was a small camp of raiders, several makeshift shelters built out of old scrap metal and wood, some of them aflame and falling apart already. The raiders were all running about in panic, some frantically shooting at what had just landed in the middle of their camp. A silvery dragon stood in the middle, a burst of fire jetting from its jaws, catching several of the huts and the occupants inside. One raider was firing off a minigun, trying to circle around behind the dragon. It whipped it's tail in the raider's direction, slicing into the pony's side, seeming to throw him slightly. The raider stumbled, the bullets from the minigun kicking up dirt as he fell off target.
The dragon reared about, snapping its jaws as a raider swung a sledgehammer into one of its legs. It stood tall, its wings flashing as it did so, and I tried to get a sense of scale from atop the hill. What is that thing, three... two... two and a half ponies tall?... dammit, stop running around! As it flashed its wings, though, I noticed they gleamed much more than a solid sheet of leathery hide should have. I squinted down, noticing a several notches in the wings that seemed to fold over themselves as the dragon kept them close to its body. As I continued to watch, I noticed the bullets hitting it were leaving small dents rather than wounds. No... this can't be real...
The robotic beast swiveled its head, spotting us on the hill. "Ah, shit." I immediately revved the engine, charging down into the valley to avoid the burst of flames which charred the grass behind us. I felt a bullet whiz by my head, causing me to duck down instinctively. Oh, of course the raiders are going to try and kill us with this thing still around. Night Strike wheeled Boomer around to face the creature, firing off several grenades as she brought it on target. A few managed to strike the dragon's talons, blowing apart one of its feet in a shower of sparks. Myself still hiding inside the tank's armored driver's seat, Aerith fired a barrage of bullets at a few raiders charging us with magnums in their teeth, myself hitting the headlight switch in an attempt to blind a few of them.
The dragon spread its wings wide, a low hum filling the air before it took to the skies, a few bits of metal falling from its damaged leg. Crash fired off her harpoon cannon, the volley of spears flying over a particularly large raider wielding a Gatling laser. Sweet Celestia, haven't these ponies heard of priorities?! The raider fired off a stream of lasers, the concentrated light scorching the side of the tank. I twisted the handlebars, swinging around to let Aerith have a clear shot. Before she could fire, though, a wall of flame shot up between us and the raider, the dragon belching up flames onto the ground. I spun around, the trailer lagging behind me a bit, jostling Crash Dive and Scouring around.
The steel ranger pointed Sunburst up into the air, firing off a few rockets, tracking the massive beast. The dragon twisted in the air, deftly avoiding the explosive projectiles, Sunburst running on empty soon enough. Crash Dive fired off another harpoon volley, managing to strike another raider squarely through the chest. Night Strike shot a few grenades up at the dragon, but they fell short, arcing instead into one of the blazing huts. I turned to avoid another jet of flame and burst of lasers, keeping my head low as Scouring reloaded and fired off more rockets. The dragon attempted to avoid them again, but one managed to strike it's knife like tail. Hot metal and oil spilled down from the sky, a few raiders crying out as they were hit.
I tried to avoid the deluge, but a few shards of flaming metal managed to embed themselves into my right foreleg. Gaah, fuck fuck fuck! I yelled in pain and clutched at my leg, losing control of the tank for a moment. I suddenly felt another prick of pain in my shoulder, causing me to look over to it. Night Strike had stabbed me with a small needle of Med-X, the pain in my arm quickly dulling. "Keep driving, we can't kill these guys if we crash!" I took a hold of the controls again, muttering a quick thanks before swerving back around.
The dragon spun in the air, it's flight hindered without the weight of its tail for balance. It attempted to correct itself, but instead began to plummet back to the ground. Night Strike and Scouring fired a few more explosives, managing to land a few hits as it landed with a deafening crash, screeching metal covering the sound of the screams of the Gatling wielding raider it crushed. The dragon writhed on the ground, releasing a furious mechanical roar, attempting to right itself. It lifted it's head, but before it could fire off another burst of flames, Night Strike lifted Thumper up and let loose a faintly golden glowing grenade. The projectile connected with the back of the robotic dragon's throat, and my vision was filled with a blinding light as the robot's head exploded, sending shards of metal off in all directions as a small mushroom cloud slowly formed above the blast.
We all sat in silence for a moment, catching our breath, staring at the destroyed dragon. Finally, Crash Dive spoke up. "Okay, what the actual FUCK was that!?" She lifted her helmet off to reveal her looking completely dumbfounded. "What the fuck just happened?!" She glanced between the rest of us, but none of us could offer anything more than a shrug. Yeah, we really don't have any more of an idea than you do.
We looked back to the heap of metal, the air still crackling around us as the huts continued to burn. "Ay, was that one o' the things that got out of Seahoof?" Looking back to Scouring as he lifted himself to the front of the cart, I shook my head, starting to turn the tank around and drive out of the ditch. The treads smothered a few smoldering blades of grass as we headed out, the others still staring at the wreck. "So... we're goin' to try to not speak of this again, right?"
"Speak of what?"
---
The somewhat scorched mini-tank trundled to a halt outside the Hopeville gunsmith's shop as the sun finally fully disappeared on the coastline. We hopped out of the tank, Aerith's magic pulling the trailer behind us as we trotted around the side of the building. I knocked on the large garage door, a bit of scuffling being heard from the opposite side before it began to roll upwards. The gunsmith stood at the door winch, the utter mess that was his forge smelling of sulfur and molten metal. "Oh, hey, didn't expect you guys back so soon. Got the guns for me, then?"
I nodded, Scouring lifting a few of the large cannons into view with his magic, placing them inside the garage. "Alright, we figure four of the autocannons and twelve of the machine guns should be more than sufficient to defend the town, so long as you've got reasonable ponies using them, of course." I said, the gunsmith looking them over, eyes wide. "Figuring in the cost of the guns themselves, transportation, and..." I paused, not wanting to reveal the dragon fight, lest he think we were crazy. "...unforeseen occupational hazards, the total should come to fourty-five hundred for each of the steampipe guns, five thousand for the other machine guns, one hundred and fifty thousand for each of the automatic cannons, one hundred thousand for ammo, and five thousand for delivery..." I paused, adding it all in my head. "Grand total of seven hundred and sixty three thousand caps."
The gunsmith practically fell to the ground, his jaw following suit. "Seven hun- I don't have that many caps! Nopony has that many caps!" He immediately walked back over to the guns, trying to pick them up and hand them back to us. "Nope, deal's off, I'm just fine getting blown to pieces by whatever those things are!" Crash Dive stepped forward, her glare almost visible through the helmet's red visor, causing the gunsmith to stumble back in fright. I sighed as Night Strike glanced over to me, confused as to what to do.
"We're not expecting it all in caps, at least," I said, trying to calm him down. "We'll take whatever you can give; ammo, guns, scrap metal, so long as the value's the same, we don't care." He paused, looking a little skeptical. "And I doubt you're going to find somepony else who's willing to give up near perfect condition anti-air guns like this too, especially with those machines flying about." He glanced up at the sky, as if expecting the machines that had been all over the news to soar overhead at that moment. Sighing, he stepped back and let us finish unloading the guns.
"Fine, fine. What kind of ammo do you need?" He asked, pulling out a pad of paper and a pencil. Night Strike, Scouring, and Aerith began to list off ammo types ranging from rockets to rifle rounds to shotgun shells and clips, the gunsmith scribbling madly to try and keep up. I leaned up against the tank as Crash Dive fitted the remaining guns to the trailer, reworking the chains a little to better secure Trout's new engine. The gunsmith placed the pencil behind his ear, glancing down at his list, gulping slightly. "A-alright, come back tomorrow around ten o'clock, I should have enough made by then." I nodded and the others hopped back onto the tank. "Oh, and here's a sort of... deposit. For the delivery." He opened a small safe underneath one of this work benches, tossing us a large bag of caps. I thanked him, only for him to turn around, muttering something about protection and extortion rackets under his breath, looking a little weak.
The mini-tank rumbled to life once again as we began to head down the streets, the new five thousand caps jangling satisfyingly in the boxes beside me. "Suppose we should spend the night here, it'll be easier coming back early in the morning for the ammo." Night Strike said, wearing a small grin. I turned and headed towards the hotel, the trailer bouncing on the road. It wasn't long before I was pulling up beside a few other carts in front of the small building, flipping the tank's engine off. We all climbed out, though Night Strike paused, looking back at the guns. "Ahm... I don't think we should just leave these here, out in the open."
Letting of a small huff that seemed like a small laugh, Aerith waved her hoof as her horn began to glow, an aura surrounding the cart. Suddenly, the trailer vanished into the air, making my own eyes go wide. Night Strike looked horrified, but before she could speak up, Aerith leaned against where the trailer had just been, supporting herself by seemingly nothing at all and wearing a smug smirk. Night Strike sighed upon realizing the guns were not destroyed - just, yanno, completely invisible - and we all began to move into the lobby. I need a spell like that!
As we entered the lobby, my stomach clenched a bit upon spotting the pony behind the desk. Oh, yeah, couldn't have been his day off, could it? Chauffeur beamed as we stepped up to the desk, seeming to focus more on me than anypony else. "Uh... two rooms." I said, trying my best not to make eye contact. He slipped a couple keys off of the rack behind him before moving them over to me, making sure to hold a moment upon our hooves touching. I inwardly shuddered as he watched us trot away, a goofy smile across his face. "Euwh. What is with him?"
"Oh, don't be like that, we all saw how you blushed." Night Strike said, poking me in the side. I glared at her, my face growing red as I handed over her room keys and unlocking mine and Scouring's room. I bolted the door behind us, sliding my saddle bags off and letting off an exhausted sigh. Scouring began to slip out of his armor as I flopped onto a chair.
"Dare I ask?" Scouring glanced over to me as he placed his armor on the ground, the bodysuit underneath covering most of his body. I rested my head on my hoof, shaking it as he chuckled a little. I flipped on the radio, hoping to change the subject.
"-anding here waiting Mr. Postman
Sooo, so patiently
For just a card, or just a letter
Saying he's returning home to me.
Please Mr. Postman"
...Seriously, Radio KAOS?
---
I rubbed my eyes as I sat up in bed, Scouring snoring lightly in the bed opposite. I pushed the covers aside and rolled off the mattress, still rather groggy - ewuh, well, it's morning, at least. The door to the bathroom creaked a little as I pushed it open, stepping into the small room. I glanced into the tub, the surface of it a little oddly stained. I pushed the thoughts to the back of my mind before shutting the door behind me and slipping my coat off, setting it aside - you don't get to be picky when you've waited so long to shower, Static. I climbed into the tub and turned the water on, gasping as the cold water splashed onto my back.
The shower quickly warmed up as I began to scrub myself, my mind wandering to wonder who had enough excess vegetables to start making soap down here. Though I suppose they aren't really hurting for food with this climate... I could hear Scouring's bed squeak as he got up, the large stallion stepping into the bathroom and turning on the sink. "Hnnh, marnin'." He muttered, splashing his face with water.
"Morning." I replied, a little more awake with the water cascading down on me. I ran my hooves through my mane, stray silvery hairs and bits of debris washing out and down the drain. Ech, I really need to find a comb sometime, too... I proceeded to wash out my tail as well, Scouring levitating up a small razor blade in his magic, carefully shaving off errant hairs on his face. I soon flipped the water off and stepped out, grabbing a towel and beginning to dry myself off. Scouring rinsed his razor before stepping back out into the room and starting to slip his armor back on. I pulled my coat back over me, securing my Pip-Buck to my leg before trotting back to the main room.
Hitching up my saddlebags and sliding my umbrella under the strap, Scouring likewise grabbed Sunburst and his items, and we stepped out into the hallway, Aerith, Night Strike, and Crash Dive already locking the door behind them. "Hey, good timing. Ready to go get our payment?" Night Strike asked, bright-eyed and grinning - Sparkle-Cola in the morning, sheesh. I nodded, and we headed back to the lobby, Aerith levitating our keys to Chauffeur behind the desk, the stallion following my movements, a dreamy look on his face.
I sped up a little as we headed outside, Night Strike chuckling behind me. I stepped up to the tank, shooing away a crow that was perched on the handlebars. Well, at least it didn't decide the seat would be a good place to relieve itself. Aerith's horn flashed, and the trailer became visible again, allowing Scouring and Crash Dive to climb into it as herself and Night Strike hopped on the back of the mini-tank. The engine rumbled to life and I carefully backed up, turning back towards the other side of town.
I made our way slowly down the roads, a few ponies already milling about in the city. It wasn't long before we were pulling back up to the gunsmith's store, the sound of metal clattering about emanating from the garage. I knocked, the garage door sliding up to reveal a very disheveled and visibly exhausted store owner, and boxes upon boxes of ammunition and clips. "Ah, well, g-glad you're here." He said, his head bobbing a little. "Jus' got finished with them all, you can... take 'em, I guess." He stood still for a moment, as if trying to remember where he was. "Oh! And, uh, these!" He shoved an enormous bag into my chest, the sound of jangling caps reaching my ears. "That'll cover what the ammo doesn't. I'm... I'm gonna go... bed, now..." He stumbled over to a pile of oily rags in the corner, flopping down on top of it. I guess we should've said we didn't need the payment right away, eheh...
We began to load up the trailer, picking up large crates of ammo. Night Strike giggled as she opened one up, revealing a large cache of .50 caliber bullets. Oookay, not going to lie, this much ammo scares the hell outta me. Regardless, I helped carry the boxes over to the trailer and slide them in, Crash Dive and Scouring Charge securing them in. I jangled the large bag of caps a little, trying to gauge how many were in there. Had to be around twenty thousand, judging by the weight. I hopped into the driver's seat, Scouring using his magic to lower the garage door as the gunsmith snoozed in the corner. My stomach growled, causing me to blush a little. "Well, we just got plenty of caps. Anywhere in particular you guys want to eat?"
"How about that Gumbo place again?" Night Strike offered, a smile on her muzzle and bottle of Sparkle-Cola in hoof. Scouring made a few noises of worry, but conceded, Crash Dive letting off a small grumble and undoing the rebreather portion of her helmet. I began to slowly trundle down the road towards Gumbo's stand, the town starting to wake up as well, a few ponies staring and some waving as we traveled down the road. I turned a corner and came up to a small food cart, Gumbo preparing some sort of thick stew behind the counter, his eyes lighting up as he caught sight of us. We all hopped out and stepped up to the stand, the chubby earth pony smiling as we sat down.
"Hey, it's the Vanhoover Five!" He said, as he tossed a few spices into the stew, chuckling lightly. "I swear, there's barely a day that goes by where I don't hear from somepony back at the Triage about how much better things have been running after you guys fixed up that dam, even had a few former slaves come through here saying how you took out that coastal gun bunker." I blushed a little at the praise, letting off my own chuckle "And now you come and donate some aircraft guns to the town? I believe I owe you all a free meal." Eheheh, well, I wouldn't exactly use the word 'donate' when it comes to those guns...
Gumbo turned back around, beginning to slice up some potatoes with surprising finesse. "You three certainly are becoming fast celebrities." Scouring chuckled a little behind his helmet, looking about the town for a moment before dropping his voice. "I, uh, just hope he doesn't remember what the comp'ny did last time we were here..." I shrugged a little, Aerith seeming to melt into her chair from the smells wafting through the stand. Gumbo soon slid a large bowl in front of each of us, every one filled to the brim with chunks of meat and vegetables floating in a creamy liquid. My stomach growled loudly as I realized just how hungry I was and immediately began to wolf down the stew.
As we ate, I heard somepony trot up behind us. "Hey, you three are the guys that helped fix up the dam, right?" Night Strike, Crash Dive and I turned around to be met by a lanky looking mare, curly mane stuck under a trilby. She stuck out her hoof for us to shake, wearing a grin. "Extra Edition with the Hopeville Newsletter. We've been dying to find you guys again, my boss flipped her lid when she heard you guys stopped by the gunsmith's yesterday and we didn't manage to catch you for an interview." Extra pulled up another stool to hop onto as she flipped open a notepad and pulled a quill out from behind her ear. "So, now that we've managed to find you, care to give us the names of these ponies who are working so tirelessly to rebuild Hopeville, and now saving the rest of the wasteland too?" Sheesh, there's flattery and then there's this...
Night Strike swallowed her mouthful of stew before answering. "Ahm, well, for starters, I'm Night Strike, and he's Static Charge." She said, nodding to me. "We're... not really from around here." Boy, how many times have we needed to say that in the last few days? "We, um, just kind of wandered in, and heard that the dam wasn't working, so we figured we could scavenge it a little as we fixed it up." Night Strike shrugged a little. "Not really much more than that."
Extra scribbled in her notebook. "So, where exactly are you two from, if you aren't from here? The Hoof? Ponyville? New Appleoosa, maybe?" I froze, suddenly feeling a little worried. I glanced over to Night Strike, who wasn't doing very well at hiding her own nervousness. I blurted out a hasty 'North', only for Extra to look a little more confused. "North? Don't tell me you hiked all the way from the Crystal Empire, the train heading there has been out for more than a year! Or, uh, oh, did you catch a ride with one of the tank ghouls, want to catch some sights in a warmer place?" I bit my lip, inwardly cursing to myself.
Crash Dive suddenly stood herself up, slipping her helmet's rebreather back over her muzzle. "The interview's over." She said through the voicebox. Night Strike and I followed her slowly, Aerith looking disappointed as she was forced to leave the rest of her stew behind. Before we could climb back onto the tank, though, Extra Edition zipped in front of Crash Dive.
"Oh, I almost forgot to catch your name!" She was shoved aside by the power armored pegasus. We all uneasily climbed into the tank, but Extra simply stepped in front of it, suddenly looking very stern. "I suggest you give me a name, ma'am, or I'll be forced to simply go with all I have. And all I have right now, seems to point to the fact that the three responsible for fixing the dam include somepony wearing power armor that happens to resemble the same kind worn by a certain faction that performed a certain military operation a decade ago." A devious grin crossed her face as my stomach dropped. "A name would help in dispelling any rumors that might persist, including a few from Maple Creek about a ghost living in a lighthouse. Sightings of this 'lighthouse ghost' do happen to line up rather well with where that recent crash took place, not to mention your friends' 'not from around here' quote..."
Frozen with a grimace of worry on my face, the power armored pegasus was silent for a moment, before pulling off her helmet and staring down Extra with her own eyes. If anything, I'm surprised she actually started looking more worried than when Crash Dive was wearing her helmet. The mare stepped aside, myself giving the tank's engine a small rev before a power armored hoof came to rest on my shoulder, a chill going down my spine as the black-armored mare moved herself off of the tank and trotted face-to-face with Extra, glaring her down all the while. Crash Dive glanced over at the mare's saddlebags, wearing a stiff look on her face. "Crash Dive. If you value your life, you'll leave what you print about us at that. Got it?"
The press mare let off an audible gulp and weak nod, Crash Dive returning to the back of the mini-tank and reaffixing her helmet as she got settled. Extra Edition seemed all too happy to get herself as far away from us as she could, myself obliging her further by getting the half-track underway back towards Maple Creek, the wagon jostling behind us as we sped onwards. Well... it could've gone worse.
<<< PREV | FIRST | NEXT >>>
"I don't know... even if it was, there must be something bugging the system up or they wouldn't keep circling the wasteland," I said, standing myself up from the chair and gathering up the blueprints, stuffing them into my saddlebags. "And if that's true, they're going to run out of fuel eventually or something, right? Who knows where they might land and who'd get them then." Night Strike grimaced, giving a small shake of her head as a reply. Giving one last worried glance at the empty hangar, we trotted over towards a small door, opening it to reveal a dusty workshop. "Well, hey, at least we might find an engine here."
Beginning to dig through the discarded metal and tools, I pushed a skeleton in a tattered jumpsuit off of a work bench it had been leaning on - ech, sorry buddy. I opened a closet, jumping back as various tools fell to the floor with a clatter. You'd think ponies pre-war would've at least organized their stuff better... "Hey, you think this might work?" I glanced over to Night Strike, catching her leaning against an engine half as big as she was, smirking a little.
"I think that'd probably get Trout up to Mach 4 if it didn't sink it to begin with." Myself letting off a small chuckle, we stepped through another door labeled 'storage', Night Strike fiddling with a switch before the overhead lights flickered on, the room filling with a low buzzing. We trotted down the aisles, staring at all the various pieces of machinery placed on the shelves. I picked up a two way radio, looking it over as Night Strike continued to search for an engine. Blowing the dust off of it, a good bit of shaking got the cobwebs loose, myself letting off a small cough. Well, looks to be in good condition, and it wouldn't hurt to have a transceiver handy.
I slipped the somewhat bulky device into my saddlebags before continuing to scan the aisle. I slid a bottle of sarsaparilla out of my pack and popped the cap off, taking swig as I caught up to Night Strike. "I think I found something that'll work." She turned to face me, nodding her head towards the engine behind her. "It looks about the same weight as the one inside Trout, and it's a similar enough model we could probably do an overhaul on the old one if we absolutely had to." I nodded, taking another gulp of soda as I grabbed a small trolley to carry the engine on.
Night Strike and myself both carefully lifted the heavy engine onto the trolley before starting to head back towards the others. As we trotted back to Aerith and the mini-tank, we could hear a large clatter, a metal-walled wagon being pulled by the power-armored unicorn, a grin on his face. "Lookit what we found between two o' the hangars, ought to work for haulin' any of the guns here, right?"
"Should be a perfect size, c'mon, we'll show you where the guns we found are." The pegasus mare beside me let the handle of the trolley clatter against the side of the mini-tank, myself grimacing at the small scratch left in it. Come on, Night Strike, I know we live in a wasteland but that doesn't mean you can treat stuff like that... She paused for a moment, thinking. "Oh! Right, ahm... I think it'll be safe until we come back out. Aerith, did find some rifles for you, if you want to do a bit of shopping."
Myself giving a roll of my eyes, we led all of them through into the hangar, making way for the long racks of machine guns. Night Strike and Aerith kept moving on deeper in towards another weapon rack, leaving myself and Scouring to start loading up the wagon - okay, let's try to not get yourself buried again, Static... "Bloody hell, these guns look like they were outdated before the bombs even fell. Same caliber, though, that's useful..." The unicorn began moving a few of the steampipe-guns onto the cart, myself moving over to pick up a few of the smaller, more gun-looking machine guns. Plenty of ammo boxes to go around here, least one per gun, which is nice...
After getting the cart loaded with the assortment of machine guns and .30 caliber ammunition, we moved on to pick up the autocannons, the sun starting to really hide itself behind the far mountains. Stopping inside the bay that once held the mini-tank, myself and Scouring moved inside the little area connecting the two hangars, the unicorn understandably impressed by the sheer size of the guns. Moving them all out one by one, Crash Dive busied herself by securing in the first assortment of guns, and picking up a black toolbox and a few of the same wheels that were on the tracks for the mini-tank - good catch, almost forgot about the extra parts for that thing.
Grunting under the weight of the first few guns, Aerith and Night Strike eventually showed back up, the alicorn wearing a wide smile and a new rifle as her magic helped move the rest out and onto the cart, along with a few more crates of ammo, and eventually the new engine. I let off a heavy sigh as we moved back out through the door, trotting to the seat of the half-track and pretty much collapsing in it, resting my back. Goddess-damn, those cannons are heavy... hopefully they're worth their weight. Or, at least, I'm sure I could convince somepony that they're worth their weight... The back of the wagon clattered as Scouring climbed himself in and secured it, Crash Dive with him, Night Strike and Aerith taking place on the back of the mini-tank. The power armored pegasus cleared her throat, getting settled on the back of the wagon. "Right, so, just for reference, what've we got here?"
"We got an engine for Ripple back at Maple Creek, along with the anti-air guns for Hopeville and whoever else needs them, and a few guns for Trout too. Hopefully it's enough for that blabbermouth gunsmith to give me those caps back..." Night Strike grumbled to herself a little as she settled herself on the tank. "And... uh... we think we might've found what those things are that've been flying around the wasteland." The others paused as she said this, passing some uneasy looks. "They're some sort of aircraft like the Valkyrie. It's got mounted tesla cannons and VTOL capability, might have missiles too. No megaspells at least..." Night Strike gave an uneasy chuckle.
"Let's just get these things over to Hopeville for now. It wouldn't hurt to save one or two, though, my lighthouse isn't exactly bomb proof..." Crash Dive let off a small grunt as I nodded and switched on the tank, starting to make way to the road heading out. The mini-tank's small engine complained a little from the extra weight, but managed to keep us moving forward at a steady pace. Alright, let's hope we don't need to kick this into high speed. I turned off the path as it approached the forest, preferring to take the slightly longer route around than worry about trying to maneuver the trailer around any tight bends.
Night Strike leaned against Boomer as we trundled across the open field, the guns rattling against each other in the back and daylight fading fast. As we made our way around the forest, I could hear a few shouts from ahead of us. Crash Dive sat up, her harpoon cannon letting off a small thunk as it loaded, myself squinting to try and see what was the cause of the noise. As I did, through, something large suddenly swooped down, causing me to lean back out of fright. Night Strike, Scouring, and Aerith were suddenly sitting at attention, trying to look around the hill where the thing had landed. As I made to turn away, a jet of flame shot into the sky, its bright blue base tapering off into a deep orange at least thirty feet in air. A silly grin crossed Night Strike's face, her eagerness to blow more things up quickly overcoming any sense of self preservation she might have had. Oh, this can't end well...
The engine rumbled even louder as I twisted the handle, the trailer bumping along behind us. Scouring opened up Sunburst, a small scope sliding out for him to use. The mini-tank struggled up the small hill between us and the fight that was breaking out among the raiders and whatever had just landed, the sound of crackling fire and gunshots ringing through the air. The land began to level out as we reached the peak of the small hill, giving us a view of the valley before us. My jaw dropped as my heart jumped to my throat - oh, just our luck.
Down in the valley was a small camp of raiders, several makeshift shelters built out of old scrap metal and wood, some of them aflame and falling apart already. The raiders were all running about in panic, some frantically shooting at what had just landed in the middle of their camp. A silvery dragon stood in the middle, a burst of fire jetting from its jaws, catching several of the huts and the occupants inside. One raider was firing off a minigun, trying to circle around behind the dragon. It whipped it's tail in the raider's direction, slicing into the pony's side, seeming to throw him slightly. The raider stumbled, the bullets from the minigun kicking up dirt as he fell off target.
The dragon reared about, snapping its jaws as a raider swung a sledgehammer into one of its legs. It stood tall, its wings flashing as it did so, and I tried to get a sense of scale from atop the hill. What is that thing, three... two... two and a half ponies tall?... dammit, stop running around! As it flashed its wings, though, I noticed they gleamed much more than a solid sheet of leathery hide should have. I squinted down, noticing a several notches in the wings that seemed to fold over themselves as the dragon kept them close to its body. As I continued to watch, I noticed the bullets hitting it were leaving small dents rather than wounds. No... this can't be real...
The robotic beast swiveled its head, spotting us on the hill. "Ah, shit." I immediately revved the engine, charging down into the valley to avoid the burst of flames which charred the grass behind us. I felt a bullet whiz by my head, causing me to duck down instinctively. Oh, of course the raiders are going to try and kill us with this thing still around. Night Strike wheeled Boomer around to face the creature, firing off several grenades as she brought it on target. A few managed to strike the dragon's talons, blowing apart one of its feet in a shower of sparks. Myself still hiding inside the tank's armored driver's seat, Aerith fired a barrage of bullets at a few raiders charging us with magnums in their teeth, myself hitting the headlight switch in an attempt to blind a few of them.
The dragon spread its wings wide, a low hum filling the air before it took to the skies, a few bits of metal falling from its damaged leg. Crash fired off her harpoon cannon, the volley of spears flying over a particularly large raider wielding a Gatling laser. Sweet Celestia, haven't these ponies heard of priorities?! The raider fired off a stream of lasers, the concentrated light scorching the side of the tank. I twisted the handlebars, swinging around to let Aerith have a clear shot. Before she could fire, though, a wall of flame shot up between us and the raider, the dragon belching up flames onto the ground. I spun around, the trailer lagging behind me a bit, jostling Crash Dive and Scouring around.
The steel ranger pointed Sunburst up into the air, firing off a few rockets, tracking the massive beast. The dragon twisted in the air, deftly avoiding the explosive projectiles, Sunburst running on empty soon enough. Crash Dive fired off another harpoon volley, managing to strike another raider squarely through the chest. Night Strike shot a few grenades up at the dragon, but they fell short, arcing instead into one of the blazing huts. I turned to avoid another jet of flame and burst of lasers, keeping my head low as Scouring reloaded and fired off more rockets. The dragon attempted to avoid them again, but one managed to strike it's knife like tail. Hot metal and oil spilled down from the sky, a few raiders crying out as they were hit.
I tried to avoid the deluge, but a few shards of flaming metal managed to embed themselves into my right foreleg. Gaah, fuck fuck fuck! I yelled in pain and clutched at my leg, losing control of the tank for a moment. I suddenly felt another prick of pain in my shoulder, causing me to look over to it. Night Strike had stabbed me with a small needle of Med-X, the pain in my arm quickly dulling. "Keep driving, we can't kill these guys if we crash!" I took a hold of the controls again, muttering a quick thanks before swerving back around.
The dragon spun in the air, it's flight hindered without the weight of its tail for balance. It attempted to correct itself, but instead began to plummet back to the ground. Night Strike and Scouring fired a few more explosives, managing to land a few hits as it landed with a deafening crash, screeching metal covering the sound of the screams of the Gatling wielding raider it crushed. The dragon writhed on the ground, releasing a furious mechanical roar, attempting to right itself. It lifted it's head, but before it could fire off another burst of flames, Night Strike lifted Thumper up and let loose a faintly golden glowing grenade. The projectile connected with the back of the robotic dragon's throat, and my vision was filled with a blinding light as the robot's head exploded, sending shards of metal off in all directions as a small mushroom cloud slowly formed above the blast.
We all sat in silence for a moment, catching our breath, staring at the destroyed dragon. Finally, Crash Dive spoke up. "Okay, what the actual FUCK was that!?" She lifted her helmet off to reveal her looking completely dumbfounded. "What the fuck just happened?!" She glanced between the rest of us, but none of us could offer anything more than a shrug. Yeah, we really don't have any more of an idea than you do.
We looked back to the heap of metal, the air still crackling around us as the huts continued to burn. "Ay, was that one o' the things that got out of Seahoof?" Looking back to Scouring as he lifted himself to the front of the cart, I shook my head, starting to turn the tank around and drive out of the ditch. The treads smothered a few smoldering blades of grass as we headed out, the others still staring at the wreck. "So... we're goin' to try to not speak of this again, right?"
"Speak of what?"
---
The somewhat scorched mini-tank trundled to a halt outside the Hopeville gunsmith's shop as the sun finally fully disappeared on the coastline. We hopped out of the tank, Aerith's magic pulling the trailer behind us as we trotted around the side of the building. I knocked on the large garage door, a bit of scuffling being heard from the opposite side before it began to roll upwards. The gunsmith stood at the door winch, the utter mess that was his forge smelling of sulfur and molten metal. "Oh, hey, didn't expect you guys back so soon. Got the guns for me, then?"
I nodded, Scouring lifting a few of the large cannons into view with his magic, placing them inside the garage. "Alright, we figure four of the autocannons and twelve of the machine guns should be more than sufficient to defend the town, so long as you've got reasonable ponies using them, of course." I said, the gunsmith looking them over, eyes wide. "Figuring in the cost of the guns themselves, transportation, and..." I paused, not wanting to reveal the dragon fight, lest he think we were crazy. "...unforeseen occupational hazards, the total should come to fourty-five hundred for each of the steampipe guns, five thousand for the other machine guns, one hundred and fifty thousand for each of the automatic cannons, one hundred thousand for ammo, and five thousand for delivery..." I paused, adding it all in my head. "Grand total of seven hundred and sixty three thousand caps."
The gunsmith practically fell to the ground, his jaw following suit. "Seven hun- I don't have that many caps! Nopony has that many caps!" He immediately walked back over to the guns, trying to pick them up and hand them back to us. "Nope, deal's off, I'm just fine getting blown to pieces by whatever those things are!" Crash Dive stepped forward, her glare almost visible through the helmet's red visor, causing the gunsmith to stumble back in fright. I sighed as Night Strike glanced over to me, confused as to what to do.
"We're not expecting it all in caps, at least," I said, trying to calm him down. "We'll take whatever you can give; ammo, guns, scrap metal, so long as the value's the same, we don't care." He paused, looking a little skeptical. "And I doubt you're going to find somepony else who's willing to give up near perfect condition anti-air guns like this too, especially with those machines flying about." He glanced up at the sky, as if expecting the machines that had been all over the news to soar overhead at that moment. Sighing, he stepped back and let us finish unloading the guns.
"Fine, fine. What kind of ammo do you need?" He asked, pulling out a pad of paper and a pencil. Night Strike, Scouring, and Aerith began to list off ammo types ranging from rockets to rifle rounds to shotgun shells and clips, the gunsmith scribbling madly to try and keep up. I leaned up against the tank as Crash Dive fitted the remaining guns to the trailer, reworking the chains a little to better secure Trout's new engine. The gunsmith placed the pencil behind his ear, glancing down at his list, gulping slightly. "A-alright, come back tomorrow around ten o'clock, I should have enough made by then." I nodded and the others hopped back onto the tank. "Oh, and here's a sort of... deposit. For the delivery." He opened a small safe underneath one of this work benches, tossing us a large bag of caps. I thanked him, only for him to turn around, muttering something about protection and extortion rackets under his breath, looking a little weak.
The mini-tank rumbled to life once again as we began to head down the streets, the new five thousand caps jangling satisfyingly in the boxes beside me. "Suppose we should spend the night here, it'll be easier coming back early in the morning for the ammo." Night Strike said, wearing a small grin. I turned and headed towards the hotel, the trailer bouncing on the road. It wasn't long before I was pulling up beside a few other carts in front of the small building, flipping the tank's engine off. We all climbed out, though Night Strike paused, looking back at the guns. "Ahm... I don't think we should just leave these here, out in the open."
Letting of a small huff that seemed like a small laugh, Aerith waved her hoof as her horn began to glow, an aura surrounding the cart. Suddenly, the trailer vanished into the air, making my own eyes go wide. Night Strike looked horrified, but before she could speak up, Aerith leaned against where the trailer had just been, supporting herself by seemingly nothing at all and wearing a smug smirk. Night Strike sighed upon realizing the guns were not destroyed - just, yanno, completely invisible - and we all began to move into the lobby. I need a spell like that!
As we entered the lobby, my stomach clenched a bit upon spotting the pony behind the desk. Oh, yeah, couldn't have been his day off, could it? Chauffeur beamed as we stepped up to the desk, seeming to focus more on me than anypony else. "Uh... two rooms." I said, trying my best not to make eye contact. He slipped a couple keys off of the rack behind him before moving them over to me, making sure to hold a moment upon our hooves touching. I inwardly shuddered as he watched us trot away, a goofy smile across his face. "Euwh. What is with him?"
"Oh, don't be like that, we all saw how you blushed." Night Strike said, poking me in the side. I glared at her, my face growing red as I handed over her room keys and unlocking mine and Scouring's room. I bolted the door behind us, sliding my saddle bags off and letting off an exhausted sigh. Scouring began to slip out of his armor as I flopped onto a chair.
"Dare I ask?" Scouring glanced over to me as he placed his armor on the ground, the bodysuit underneath covering most of his body. I rested my head on my hoof, shaking it as he chuckled a little. I flipped on the radio, hoping to change the subject.
"-anding here waiting Mr. Postman
Sooo, so patiently
For just a card, or just a letter
Saying he's returning home to me.
Please Mr. Postman"
...Seriously, Radio KAOS?
---
I rubbed my eyes as I sat up in bed, Scouring snoring lightly in the bed opposite. I pushed the covers aside and rolled off the mattress, still rather groggy - ewuh, well, it's morning, at least. The door to the bathroom creaked a little as I pushed it open, stepping into the small room. I glanced into the tub, the surface of it a little oddly stained. I pushed the thoughts to the back of my mind before shutting the door behind me and slipping my coat off, setting it aside - you don't get to be picky when you've waited so long to shower, Static. I climbed into the tub and turned the water on, gasping as the cold water splashed onto my back.
The shower quickly warmed up as I began to scrub myself, my mind wandering to wonder who had enough excess vegetables to start making soap down here. Though I suppose they aren't really hurting for food with this climate... I could hear Scouring's bed squeak as he got up, the large stallion stepping into the bathroom and turning on the sink. "Hnnh, marnin'." He muttered, splashing his face with water.
"Morning." I replied, a little more awake with the water cascading down on me. I ran my hooves through my mane, stray silvery hairs and bits of debris washing out and down the drain. Ech, I really need to find a comb sometime, too... I proceeded to wash out my tail as well, Scouring levitating up a small razor blade in his magic, carefully shaving off errant hairs on his face. I soon flipped the water off and stepped out, grabbing a towel and beginning to dry myself off. Scouring rinsed his razor before stepping back out into the room and starting to slip his armor back on. I pulled my coat back over me, securing my Pip-Buck to my leg before trotting back to the main room.
Hitching up my saddlebags and sliding my umbrella under the strap, Scouring likewise grabbed Sunburst and his items, and we stepped out into the hallway, Aerith, Night Strike, and Crash Dive already locking the door behind them. "Hey, good timing. Ready to go get our payment?" Night Strike asked, bright-eyed and grinning - Sparkle-Cola in the morning, sheesh. I nodded, and we headed back to the lobby, Aerith levitating our keys to Chauffeur behind the desk, the stallion following my movements, a dreamy look on his face.
I sped up a little as we headed outside, Night Strike chuckling behind me. I stepped up to the tank, shooing away a crow that was perched on the handlebars. Well, at least it didn't decide the seat would be a good place to relieve itself. Aerith's horn flashed, and the trailer became visible again, allowing Scouring and Crash Dive to climb into it as herself and Night Strike hopped on the back of the mini-tank. The engine rumbled to life and I carefully backed up, turning back towards the other side of town.
I made our way slowly down the roads, a few ponies already milling about in the city. It wasn't long before we were pulling back up to the gunsmith's store, the sound of metal clattering about emanating from the garage. I knocked, the garage door sliding up to reveal a very disheveled and visibly exhausted store owner, and boxes upon boxes of ammunition and clips. "Ah, well, g-glad you're here." He said, his head bobbing a little. "Jus' got finished with them all, you can... take 'em, I guess." He stood still for a moment, as if trying to remember where he was. "Oh! And, uh, these!" He shoved an enormous bag into my chest, the sound of jangling caps reaching my ears. "That'll cover what the ammo doesn't. I'm... I'm gonna go... bed, now..." He stumbled over to a pile of oily rags in the corner, flopping down on top of it. I guess we should've said we didn't need the payment right away, eheh...
We began to load up the trailer, picking up large crates of ammo. Night Strike giggled as she opened one up, revealing a large cache of .50 caliber bullets. Oookay, not going to lie, this much ammo scares the hell outta me. Regardless, I helped carry the boxes over to the trailer and slide them in, Crash Dive and Scouring Charge securing them in. I jangled the large bag of caps a little, trying to gauge how many were in there. Had to be around twenty thousand, judging by the weight. I hopped into the driver's seat, Scouring using his magic to lower the garage door as the gunsmith snoozed in the corner. My stomach growled, causing me to blush a little. "Well, we just got plenty of caps. Anywhere in particular you guys want to eat?"
"How about that Gumbo place again?" Night Strike offered, a smile on her muzzle and bottle of Sparkle-Cola in hoof. Scouring made a few noises of worry, but conceded, Crash Dive letting off a small grumble and undoing the rebreather portion of her helmet. I began to slowly trundle down the road towards Gumbo's stand, the town starting to wake up as well, a few ponies staring and some waving as we traveled down the road. I turned a corner and came up to a small food cart, Gumbo preparing some sort of thick stew behind the counter, his eyes lighting up as he caught sight of us. We all hopped out and stepped up to the stand, the chubby earth pony smiling as we sat down.
"Hey, it's the Vanhoover Five!" He said, as he tossed a few spices into the stew, chuckling lightly. "I swear, there's barely a day that goes by where I don't hear from somepony back at the Triage about how much better things have been running after you guys fixed up that dam, even had a few former slaves come through here saying how you took out that coastal gun bunker." I blushed a little at the praise, letting off my own chuckle "And now you come and donate some aircraft guns to the town? I believe I owe you all a free meal." Eheheh, well, I wouldn't exactly use the word 'donate' when it comes to those guns...
Gumbo turned back around, beginning to slice up some potatoes with surprising finesse. "You three certainly are becoming fast celebrities." Scouring chuckled a little behind his helmet, looking about the town for a moment before dropping his voice. "I, uh, just hope he doesn't remember what the comp'ny did last time we were here..." I shrugged a little, Aerith seeming to melt into her chair from the smells wafting through the stand. Gumbo soon slid a large bowl in front of each of us, every one filled to the brim with chunks of meat and vegetables floating in a creamy liquid. My stomach growled loudly as I realized just how hungry I was and immediately began to wolf down the stew.
As we ate, I heard somepony trot up behind us. "Hey, you three are the guys that helped fix up the dam, right?" Night Strike, Crash Dive and I turned around to be met by a lanky looking mare, curly mane stuck under a trilby. She stuck out her hoof for us to shake, wearing a grin. "Extra Edition with the Hopeville Newsletter. We've been dying to find you guys again, my boss flipped her lid when she heard you guys stopped by the gunsmith's yesterday and we didn't manage to catch you for an interview." Extra pulled up another stool to hop onto as she flipped open a notepad and pulled a quill out from behind her ear. "So, now that we've managed to find you, care to give us the names of these ponies who are working so tirelessly to rebuild Hopeville, and now saving the rest of the wasteland too?" Sheesh, there's flattery and then there's this...
Night Strike swallowed her mouthful of stew before answering. "Ahm, well, for starters, I'm Night Strike, and he's Static Charge." She said, nodding to me. "We're... not really from around here." Boy, how many times have we needed to say that in the last few days? "We, um, just kind of wandered in, and heard that the dam wasn't working, so we figured we could scavenge it a little as we fixed it up." Night Strike shrugged a little. "Not really much more than that."
Extra scribbled in her notebook. "So, where exactly are you two from, if you aren't from here? The Hoof? Ponyville? New Appleoosa, maybe?" I froze, suddenly feeling a little worried. I glanced over to Night Strike, who wasn't doing very well at hiding her own nervousness. I blurted out a hasty 'North', only for Extra to look a little more confused. "North? Don't tell me you hiked all the way from the Crystal Empire, the train heading there has been out for more than a year! Or, uh, oh, did you catch a ride with one of the tank ghouls, want to catch some sights in a warmer place?" I bit my lip, inwardly cursing to myself.
Crash Dive suddenly stood herself up, slipping her helmet's rebreather back over her muzzle. "The interview's over." She said through the voicebox. Night Strike and I followed her slowly, Aerith looking disappointed as she was forced to leave the rest of her stew behind. Before we could climb back onto the tank, though, Extra Edition zipped in front of Crash Dive.
"Oh, I almost forgot to catch your name!" She was shoved aside by the power armored pegasus. We all uneasily climbed into the tank, but Extra simply stepped in front of it, suddenly looking very stern. "I suggest you give me a name, ma'am, or I'll be forced to simply go with all I have. And all I have right now, seems to point to the fact that the three responsible for fixing the dam include somepony wearing power armor that happens to resemble the same kind worn by a certain faction that performed a certain military operation a decade ago." A devious grin crossed her face as my stomach dropped. "A name would help in dispelling any rumors that might persist, including a few from Maple Creek about a ghost living in a lighthouse. Sightings of this 'lighthouse ghost' do happen to line up rather well with where that recent crash took place, not to mention your friends' 'not from around here' quote..."
Frozen with a grimace of worry on my face, the power armored pegasus was silent for a moment, before pulling off her helmet and staring down Extra with her own eyes. If anything, I'm surprised she actually started looking more worried than when Crash Dive was wearing her helmet. The mare stepped aside, myself giving the tank's engine a small rev before a power armored hoof came to rest on my shoulder, a chill going down my spine as the black-armored mare moved herself off of the tank and trotted face-to-face with Extra, glaring her down all the while. Crash Dive glanced over at the mare's saddlebags, wearing a stiff look on her face. "Crash Dive. If you value your life, you'll leave what you print about us at that. Got it?"
The press mare let off an audible gulp and weak nod, Crash Dive returning to the back of the mini-tank and reaffixing her helmet as she got settled. Extra Edition seemed all too happy to get herself as far away from us as she could, myself obliging her further by getting the half-track underway back towards Maple Creek, the wagon jostling behind us as we sped onwards. Well... it could've gone worse.
<<< PREV | FIRST | NEXT >>>
Category Artwork (Digital) / My Little Pony / Brony
Species Horse
Size 1052 x 621px
File Size 200.7 kB
Comments