Chapter 18: Blood For Electricity

“My scouts say that something's out there.”

“They're right. I've seen them, they're hostile and powerful.”

“If they're really that fierce then... do you think, you could y'know, soften them up? Maybe just stop their crops from growing for a year?”

“No! You may be a good friend C but I will not take sides. I am here to keep Equestria safe, no matter the faction. If I did oblige you then I'd be no better than... well you know who. I'm ashamed you'd even ask!”

“I know, it's just, I was just- Hello? Are you still on? Dammit, I'm sorry...”

“....”

“I'm not mad at you, but I won't do that. However, I have seen someone who can help. She's on her way to the Dam as we speak. You can't miss her, she actually reminds me of our little group from back in the day.”

“Hehehe those were the days weren't they?”

“You say that like you miss them but back then it was hell. I think I'll stick with the present for once- Oh hey she's here I gotta jet, talk to you later.”

“Okay, I'll see you later........ Hmm, sometimes I do like the old days. Things were simpler back then. We knew who the enemies were and we didn't have to wait around and-”

“And remember C, give her the key. The truth will set us free....”

“Huh?! What? You can't mean? But our oaths?”

“It's time C, the people will know and we'll use her to get the word out. Prepare for me C, I'll be out in a few months but I still need some help walking after all those years of sleeping.”

“.... Very well, I'll start telling the others. Tell H I said hi.”

~Meanwhile in the wagon on their way to Hoofer Dam~

Artemis awoke groggily. She felt sore and exhausted, the electric energy that was with her two nights ago was now replaced with a heavy sobriety. Now Artemis just felt quiet and blank. She had nearly died, how had she survived that direct blast and not just that, the Leopard2 was now a pile of scorched scrap metal. Two soldiers destroyed a tank with grenades, they didn't even have a rocket launcher. Did that make her insane or suicidal?

Aroma however was still very excited about the recent battle. Artemis suspected Aroma had put her on a pedestal and believed Artemis to be more than she really was. In truth Artemis felt far from invincible, in fact she felt frail. This had to be some psychological trauma brought on by the near death experience because even she knew she shouldn't feel this way. Hell, she had destroyed a tank with no rockets and survived a direct cannon shot. She should feel invincible, she should feel like she could take on every Celestia damned legionnaire! But, for some reason she just felt empty. But why? Why couldn't Artemis go into battle and not have to fight a second mental battle the next day?!

Dammit, as she slipped deeper and deeper and into her thoughts and feelings the more zombie-like she would become in the real world. With mental strain Artemis started swim to the surface of the ocean that is her thoughts, she would need to breach the surface quickly lest she drown in her muddled and frivolous thoughts. Artemis gasped as she inhaled the oxygen of the surface. She huffed and puffed desperately and flailed in the water before gaining stability in the rocking ocean waves that crested and lowered. The sun was rising with a heavenly orange that painted the water a violet purple, somehow this comforted Artemis. This sunrise it felt good...

“Hans I don't think that goes there...” Aroma said. Artemis's eyes perked open, that was something you would never hear with Hans and a mare.

Artemis raised her head from the seat she was sleeping on. Verity was sitting by himself with his eyes closed, possibly asleep. Serendipity and the surviving Followers were huddled around each other discussing what to do when they got to Hoofer Dam. Last but not least was Aroma and Hans were sitting in the floor of the wagon building.. building something. Aroma turned and noticed Artemis had awoken and gingerly trotted over to her while a befuddled Hans remained with their project.

“Hey Artemis! Look what me and Hans are putting together.” Aroma said happily. She seemed to be adjusting to her new ears just fine.

Bedraggled, Artemis sat up and looked to Hans who was not having a good time comprehending the manual's instructions.

“What are you two building?” Artemis inquired as she reached for her painkillers.

Hans threw the manual behind him in frustration. “Well, I bought it from some Pegasus ghoul and her husband Sir Shouts a-Lot in Clopton but she cheated me! This bucket of bolts isn't even working right, so Aroma's helping me out.”

Artemis raised an eyebrow at this idea of a robot. “Why did you buy a robot Hans?” Is this what he spent that dirty money on?

Hans wiped sweat from his forehead and brushed his blond mane from his face. “Well, I just thought that y'know it could be useful and maybe help in combat. Besides check his flank out.”

Artemis rolled her eyes comically at her unicorn friend. “Hans, if you want some sex-bot then you-” But what Artemis did see legitimately surprised her. The symbol of the Grand Pegasus Enclave, a large PE encircled by stars stamped the robopony's flank where a cutie mark would be.

“Whoa, that is strange.” Artemis concurred and sat down in the floor to further examine the machine.

The machine resembled a pony in shape. Its eyes were black and no mouth or jaw for that matter could be located on it. The ears were somewhat like Aroma's ear, with a speaker-like material over them. The wings were also strange to her, they were simply a metallic skeleton of wings with no real ability to enable flight. Maybe they were just aesthetic and served no real purpose or maybe they had deteriorated from time's passing? Besides the mild rusting on it the robot's hull his metal body was still very intact and it was easily prevalent that this machine was a very intricate piece of technology.

“What's up with his tail?” Aroma asked as she touched the metallic tail that ended in a scorpion-like stinger piece.

“It's an Enclave weapon...” Verity said unexpectedly behind Artemis. He looked tired and held his right arm in a sling.

Artemis looked at his crippled arm feeling guilty inside. She knew that he had most likely damaged it fighting the Leopard2. Verity picked up that Artemis was starring at his broken arm.

“You needn't worry... love. It's fine, just a flesh wound the Followers persisted that I keep in this sling. I will be fine.” Verity detailed in his steely voice. Artemis hid a small blush when he called her love, it sounded odd coming from him but she still liked it.

“But what is this?” Aroma continued at the tail.

“It's a melee weapon used for Enclave power armors, it can inject a poison or tear out an opponent's throat. My father fought those in the Enclave skirmishes forty years back. Whatever that machine is, it's a weapon.” Verity answered. Aroma put the tail down and glanced at the machine.

“So that explains the gatling laser that came with him to.” Hans added as he grabbed a battle-saddle with a mini gatling laser on both sides.

“And it's solar powered as well, that means the gun recharges itself for near infinite ammunition.” Aroma added as she worked inside the machine.

“Wow, guess Verity was right. It is meant for combat.” Artemis said surprised by such an advanced caliber of weapon.

“There! I done did it. He should work now.” Aroma said triumphantly after tinkering with the robot's innards.

There was a long pause in the room. After seeing the gun that went with the droid maybe it was best that this droid be left deactivated. It was an awfully big risk to take for something so trivial. Maybe the droid would be hostile and attack or self-destruct or maybe something worse. But then again it is just a machine and Artemis had no doubt Aroma could reprogram it to be loyal to them. Or they could just play it safe and scrap it for parts.

“Aroma, do you think you could-!” Artemis was halted as the robot sparked and flickered to life all by itself! A tiny whining noise rose and fell as more noise was being generated by the machine.

“Turn it off!” Artemis ordered to Aroma. Aroma hastily tried to reopen the compartment to the inside of its body but now it would not budge.

“It's stuck! I can't open it!” Aroma cried as the robot made more noises while remaining still.

“I think it's gonna blow!” Hans cried and the wining noises only fanned the flame of that possibility.

“Calm down I know what to do.” Verity yelled hushing the others. He went to grab the metal pony with his good hand to toss it out of the wagon when suddenly the winding became nonexistent. Verity  halted and scanned the faces of the others who were relieved by the quietness.

“Plea: Stay your hand users.” An electronic voice crackled weakly. Everyone froze.

“Did, did you just talk?” Artemis asked the robot suspiciously.

Slowly the machine stirred and everyone backed away, even Verity. This whatever it was, moved just like a pony almost to a haunting detail, the way its hind legs rose to stand up and the way its back shifted and the wing pylons seemed to flutter. It was almost majestic, but it was just a machine right? The black lens that were its eyes became bright yellow and the wing bones soon grew a transparent hexagon-patterned webbing with the matching color of it's eyes. Now the robot seemed to shake itself after standing up all the way, seeming to emulate stretching after sleeping.

The machine stared at everyone around it before looking down to Aroma whose bright yellow eyes seemed to scare her. But no one would move. They were paralyzed with fear and Artemis with a strange curiosity.

“Question: Are you the user who activated my matrix?” It asked with a robotic monotone voice but Artemis couldn't make out it's inflection. Instead it announced the flux or tone it was speaking in, confusing but Artemis could grasp the concept.

“Umm, yes.” Aroma answered timidly under the robot's gaze. Again the machine processed the information and was silent.

“Grateful Expression: Thank you user, you repaired my matrix and thus allowed me to reboot myself.” It said with a metallic voice that was noticeably male.

Aroma whimpered. “So you're not gonna turn me to ash?”

The machine returned his head to a normal upright position. “Vexed Query: Why would you suspect that I would do that?”

Aroma lowered her shoulders in a confused expression. Everyone on the wagon, even the Followers were intrigued by what this machine was doing. How it walked, how it talked, where did it come from? What was it exactly? Aroma stood up to her hooves, not feeling as threatened anymore. She was petite compared to the robot; it's stature and build resembled that of a stallion further reinforcing the use of the “he” pronoun.

“Then, what will you do?” Aroma inquired politely.

“Request: One moment, searching special data banks....” He trailed off into his memory. Artemis wondered if this was what she was like when she would get lost in her thoughts.

“Notice: Critical memory files formatted, please insert backup memory card.” He asked Aroma, although the confused expressions of the people around him cemented the idea that they were ignorant of what he was requesting.

Aroma looked around the spare parts in vain, she knew she did not have this memory card. Artemis stepped to the robopony to intercede for Aroma. She put a talon on his cold metal shoulder. His head turned to see her with a nearly silent wind. The yellow eyes were intimidating, and annoyingly bright.

“I don't think we have this memory card, we bought you from a ghoul in Clopton.” Artemis explained.

“Explanation: Ghoul? Terminology, an organic that has experienced postmortem mutation causing suspended animation of the corpse.”

Artemis stared at the stallion perplexed. “Uhhh right. But what are you going to do now?” She asked the machine.

He looked down as if he was saddened by his befuddlement. “Confused Answer: I do not know, I theorize that finding my memory card is my main priority but if I travel with this group my odds of survivability are increased by 59.772%” He said in his synthesized voice.

“You don't know what were up against.” Verity commented sarcastically. The robot looked to Verity and returned his gaze to Artemis.

“Wary Disbelief: Does the griffon male mean to be comical?”

“No, we are in some deep trouble. There is a good chance we might all die horribly but if you'll fight alongside us we'll help you find your memory card.” Artemis suggested. She didn't know much about this robot, but if they could turn those twin gatling lasers on the legionnaires then perhaps he wasn't all bad.

“Reluctant Answer: Very well then, assisting you increases the chance of finding my critical memory card by .3% I will help you in your endeavor user.”

“You, can call me Artemis if you'd like.” Artemis offered him nicely.

“Answer: Your customs have been saved user Artemis.”

“Question: And what of you user?” He asked Aroma who seemed to backpedal from him shyly.

“I'm, Aroma. What's your name?” She answer and asked a question of her own.

The machine was silent for a minute. “Confused Answer: I am a Grand Pegasus Enclave assassin mech 2060-B. But the flux of your question implies you request a name like user Artemis's. Of which I have none.”

“You mean, you don't have a name?” Verity asked coldly from his seat, apparently his interest waned as he had sat back down.

“Apology: I lack a user name, but I require none.”

“Then what should we call you?” Serendipity chimed softly.

He was silent for a minute before talking again. “Answer: If you users require a name then you may call me 2060, a shortening of my design name.”

“Are there others like you?” A Follower asked bemused. Verity “hrmph” in his seat.

Artemis to Verity, since his father had fought them then maybe there were other 2060's out there, but he looked so advanced he must have cost a small fortune to build and design. From what he said, 2060 was an assassin mech, he may very well be a product of the Ministry of Wartime Technology. Then again, if he was from the Pegasus Enclave then his origins may lie in the Ministry of Awesome. It made sense, a robot that could replace actual ponies on the battlefield and perform as good, if not better than real ponies. That seemed like something the pre-war government would work on. Artemis was pulled out of her thinking when 2060 spoke.

“Proud Answer: Yes, I am the first model of the 2060 line.”

Aroma's face lit up jubilantly. “I got it! We can call you Alpha!” She decreed.

“Alpha? I was liking 2060 to be honest.” Hans countered.

“Think about it, alpha means first and Alpha here is the first model of his kind. It's perfect!” Aroma argued excitedly.

“Exclamation: User Aroma is correct. Alpha does indeed mean first and this is a fitting name alluding to me being the first of my kind.”

Artemis examined the machine, she was not sure how he came to the decision of actually liking the name Alpha, how did a machine have preference? But to each his own right? She extended her hand out to him, Alpha scanned her before raising his metal hoof to her claw.

“Welcome to the team.” Artemis said warmly as she shook his hand.

“Statement: Glad to be onboard.”

With that their motley little family had grown by one more. A cold and rather metallic Pegasus that announced his sentence before saying it. He had lost his memory over the years and joining Artemis and her gang was the most logistically reasonable path of action.

Artemis, while glad to have a new and capable addition to the team was still hesitant to trust a machine wholeheartedly. Because in the end, it was a machine however advanced. She was skeptical about the possibility of finding his memory cards, it seemed like a one in one million chance of coming across a small chip the size your thumb even if it survived the war. But if Artemis could turn Alpha's weapons at their enemies for the time being then she would accept his help. Not that she never planned on helping Alpha it was just, it wasn't a dire need and he is a machine after all..

Aroma began to talk to Alpha in a haste of questions. “Omigosh I have so many questions. Where were you made? Where'd you come from? Can you think?”

Artemis took this moment to slink back away from the commotion. She sat down by Verity who was stone faced as always, although his eyes did seem to watch Alpha almost intrigued until Artemis sat by him to which he redirected his attention to.

She looked at him, his cornflower blue fur was ruffled and stained with small rust brown bloodstains. Verity, he made her so happy at times and other times he infuriated her; his trepidation about slaying legionnaires in the face of imminent death. But for some reason, at the end of the day she didn't want anyone else.

Verity shrugged his shoulders with a sigh of fatigue and laid his head in her lap to stare at the ceiling and Artemis. She was caught off guard but soon became calm with him. She ran her fingers through the feathers on his head and he seemed to enjoy it. An expression of relief crossed his face.

“Hehe, look at Alpha. Looks like we got another ally in our ranks.” Artemis whispered gently.

Verity gave a small grin. “Yeah, look at us. All we need to do now is rescue some foals from raiders in an abandoned school and then we'd be like the start of every story my grandmother used to tell me.” He said amusingly.

“What do you mean by that?” Artemis asked indulging Verity's story.

“When I was a child, every story my grandmother would tell me had a lone wanderer or a small group of do-gooders rescuing helpless fillies from the dissolute raiders. Then it grew from there.” He explained reminiscently.

Artemis gave her love a gentle smile. “Well it looks like we missed that part and skipped right to the quest didn't we?”

Verity chuckled lightly. “I hear there's plenty of raider hideouts to the north that we could always shoot up sometime.”

Artemis smirked. “Or we could be hipsters and not do that part. To mainstream for us right?”

“Exactly, now all we need is the glasses.” Verity continued the joke.

Now Artemis chuckled. “Oh Verity, if I find some you'll be the first to know.”

They sat in a peaceful silence together while the others went about being themselves. Hans lit a cigarette which Serendipity promptly threw out one of the windows, Aroma continued talking to Alpha who seemed to be talking in return. Artemis continued to rub Verity's head and he eventually closed his eyes. Usually Verity seemed disgruntled or perturbed when he slept but now he seemed content maybe even happy.

“Mmmm..” Verity stirred. “This is what I've been wanting for so long.” Verity said blissfully. Artemis was silent, but she gave a quaint smile.

“This, is what I've wanted.” He explained placing emphasis on “This”.

“This intimacy, it's what I've been looking for in a relationship. We both care for each other and it's so much more than physical. There's no fear.” Verity continued.

Artemis wished this could be forever, this peace and comfort. But with all good things it would come to an end. The usual rhythmic rumble of the wagon's wheel on the bumpy roads eventually slowed and came to a stop. A sad disappointment crossed Verity's face as the engine died and the others began to exit out the back.

“I love you Verity.” Artemis whispered as she pecked him on his forehead.

“Wait, Artemis.” Verity said and returned her peck. “I love you to.” With that he rose from her lap.

“Oh Artemis dear.” Serendipity chirped kindly as Verity exited the wagon.

“Here's your pipbuck back, without it we probably would have been paste under that tank, thank you.” She added tossing the pipbuck to Artemis.

“Oh, don't mention it, it's nothing.” Artemis said humbly.

“Well it may be nothing to you but it saved me and... most of my Followers.” She said in a melancholy tone. “But me and the surviving Followers did reprogram the pipbuck for griffon physiology so now it should be able to tell you accurate statistics when in battle.”

Artemis took the pipbuck. The little icon on the limb page was now replaced with a griffon. Now Aroma would never be able to use it reliably as it was tailored to Artemis now. It felt like stealing a piece of Aroma but Artemis didn't have the heart to tell Serendipity what she did.

“Thank you Serendipity, I really appreciate that.” Artemis lied gladly as she put the pipbuck on. It fit like a glove.

Hoofer Dam, holy hell. Here it was, in the flesh and very very real. Artemis couldn't help but look awestruck as she took in the sight of the dam. The sky was blue but she could feel the pressure here, this place was a powder keg ready to explode. Only minutes later did Artemis realize she was just at a checkpoint, not at the dam proper. Artemis noticed several figures coming to their position. Her heart and mind began to race, until Serendipity waved hello to them.

NCR soldiers trotted hastily to the group. One pony stopped to talk to Serendipity but the other grunts filed into the wagon and started taking their equipment!

“Hey hey hey what the hell are you doing? Stay out of our wagon.” Artemis demanded and a mare with a face warp over mouth turned to meet her.

“Stand back miss, this is a NCR military procedure you're interfering with our search.” She proclaimed with an overbearing voice.

“What the hell're you searching for?!” Artemis argued vehemently. One soldier returned from the wagon with Artemis's duffel bag!

“Sir! We found an famas F1 and several other armaments.” The grunt reported.

“Looks like the little girl has a big toy.” The commanding mare chastised. “Here. We are confiscating your weapons and the droid until you leave Hoofer Dam. You also need to present your NCR passport to the San Palomino Outpost Master otherwise you'll be denied access to NCR.” The mare said arrogantly as she handed Artemis a clipboard with a multitude of papers.

Artemis could not help but feel intimidated by this mare and her paperwork. The talk of passports and confiscation made her feel sick to her stomach, bullshit bureaucracy.

Birthdate, gender, eye color, height, weight, mother, father, sexual orientation, coat color, race, reason for travel, pre-existing NCR citizen yes/no, blood type, diseases, mental disorders, faction associations... The damned papers went on and on! They asked everything from the understandable to the mundane to the simply ridiculous! It seemed as if when you completed one page two rose in its place and Artemis was becoming frustrated.

“I don't want to be apart of your damned system!” Artemis yelled as she tossed the clipboard off the damn with a mighty hurl. The commander mare and her soldiers drew their guns and aimed at Artemis.

“Hey! Stand down maggots! We do not take aim at disgruntled natives! Leave immediately and report to your superiors for reassignment on the double!” Another more commanding voice shouted.

It was the mare Serendipity had been talking to. A deep orange almost rust colored unicorn mare in strange armor with the NCR insignia on the shoulders of her forelegs. She wore a tan beret over her head. The mare that had been harassing Artemis timidly approached her commander.

“Reassignment sir...” She squeaked.

The beret pony grinned sinisterly. “You report to my quarters and await personal punishment, and put your socks on. That's an order.”

“Yes sir.” She replied seductively. Did Artemis just think what happened really happened? Before she could ponder the beret pony walked up to the gang.

“Sorry about that, the ponies stationed here are nervous and mistrustful of natives. I'm Ranger Rusty, I hear you guys are the noble heroes that saved my sister Serendipity no?” Rusty was friendly with her tone despite having just chewed out several soldiers.

Artemis cooled down. This mare seemed okay or at least okay-er than the commander. “Yeah we got her out of Clopton, but she helped us out to so y'know.” Artemis deflected the ranger's praise.

Rusty eyed Artemis up before resuming. “Yes anywho my superiors predicted your arrival.” She said in a causal manner.

Artemis raised an eyebrow at the mare. “You mean your father Calamity?” Rusty was caught off guard by Artemis's knowledge but hid it well enough to shrug it off.

“The very same. He wants to see you by the way, immediately.” She told the group somewhat ominously.

How did General Calamity know they were coming to the dam? Spies? Did his daughter somehow tell him? Those damned twins that oddly never appeared anymore? Whatever alerted Mr. Calamity to their presence would soon be brought into the light, and Artemis oddly looked forward to meeting this general...

“Very well, take us to your leader.” Artemis said casually, trying to not sound intimidated.

Rusty nodded and began to walk into the dam walk proper. She lowered herself under a security gate and continued on. Artemis and Verity hovered over it nonchalantly, and from the elevation Artemis received a breathtaking view of the dam under the cloudless blue sky.

A colossal wall of concrete, cracked and dirty split the mountain in two like a grand titan holding two great doors ajar for an eternity. A once great river was dammed behind one side of the wall leaving the river a miserable trickle of water while the other side held an immense lake whose water was being cycled over and over in massive turbines connected to the dam in a marvel of engineering. The generators roared and rumbled with the turn of their turbines and water occasionally splashed onto the dam road.

“Ahh, that's Lake Mareizona.” Rusty commented.

Soldiers in dull brown uniforms patrolled about the dam. Signs and poster of the NCR adorned nearly every reasonable nook. Every pole bore a NCR flag which displayed blue two-headed with an odd cosmic starry fur on it, “New Canterlot Republic” the flags proclaimed. Propaganda posters were glued, taped and nailed to many walls. “This is a Ranger! He fights for your freedom!”A poster said in big bold letters with a picture of a pony in pre-war riot armor. Artemis wondered if Rusty owned a suit of that of armor? It looked fierce. There were other assortments of NCR posters of their very own design, not just reused pre-war stuff. This was newly printed at a factory. Artemis couldn't help but feel impressed, another civilization had arisen, on that it seemed could match the Legion.

Another impressive feature about the dam was its defenses. Spaced evenly on the towers of the dam stood massive cannons. These flak cannons were far larger than any howitzer Artemis had ever seen, her mouth was unknowingly open in awe.

“I see you like the BFC's we got out here. Got them from our good friends in Friendship City to help keep the dam secure.” Rusty remarked with a nod.

“What does BFC mean?” Aroma asked shyly.

Rusty rolled her eyes. “Hehe it means Big Fucking Cannon. Dadd- General Calamity says they could even hurt a Raptor or a dragon.” Aroma seemed to grimace at the thought as did several others. Artemis couldn't see why a dragon or monster that size would attack the dam, the cannons would be to damaging to fire at normal infantrymen without cause massive collateral damage to the dam thus making them near useless.

“After you, proceed down the stairs until you to get to f3.” Rusty said as she used her magic to open a door into the stairs of the dam.

Lighting was sparse inside the stairwell and the door clanged with a loud bang when it shut behind them. Rusty returned to the front of the pack and led them down the service stairs. Lone lights on the wall of the new floor were all that lit the stairwell, the floor was a corny yellowish marble and a stuffy musk filled the air.

The gang descended floor after floor until they came upon a floor marker “f3” the third floor. Outside the door were sentries in bulky power armor adorned with the symbol of the NCR bear-mutant. Artemis was surprised by the heavily armored guards in their bulky armor.

“Wow, power armor...” She whispered to herself in awe.

“They're Steel Rangers.” Verity whispered in her ear, you could feel the warmth of his breath.

“Nope, sorry sir. I'm afraid your facts are wrong.” Rusty butted in their conversation rudely.

“Then what are they?” Verity grumbled unamused at being corrected.

“The Steel Rangers and Applejack's Rangers were integrated into the NCR military with the Treaty of Broken Steel. They are now called NCR heavy troopers.” Artemis knew little about the Steel Rangers besides the common knowledge that they crusaded for pre-war technologies and horded them not to mention their renowned firepower, however Artemis knew nothing of the Applejack's Rangers. It bewildered her to imagine how such an isolated order would integrate with something that disagreed with their core doctrines, Artemis imagined they didn't join peacefully.

“Well, this it, this is where we stop.” Rusty said finally. She seemed to look uneasy by the door to her father's office. The door was wide wooden door with fuzzy glass that obscured the room inside.

“Do these natives have clearance to see the general?” A heavy troop rumbled sounding displeased that Artemis and her friends were even there at the dam, walking among NCR people.

“Yes, I've fast tracked them past customs and immigration and besides I don't answer to you.” Rusty answered with a snarky tone and a brush of her mane. The stallion seemed to hide a disgruntled snort and walked away.

“You guys have fun now.” Rusty gestured towards the door by lowering her head. Now Artemis was beginning to feel a slight trepidation of this meeting. A nervous heat gathered in the back of her mind.  Would this Calamity really friend or foe?

Artemis slowly grabbed the cold door knob and turned it. The door creaked as it opened. She peaked inside cautiously. It, it was an office. A simple office with several old antiques about the room. A painting of a lower middle-aged griffon that somewhat resembled Priscilla, Artemis's mother. A flag of the NCR stood on a small pole in the left corner of the office and a flag of the old Equestria on the right.

The room was darker than she would've liked. Many of the relics and antiques were obscured by a shadowy curtain cast by the dim lighting. Two small circular windows were behind the desk that looked out into the valley that used to be the river. The blue morning sky had now become an ominous fiery orange as the sun began to set. And last but not least behind several objects on the desk sat a pony, masked by the shadowy lighting.

“Please, sit down.... All of you.” The general whispered and waved his hoof.

Artemis's neck hairs stood with the bone chilling calmness or coldness of his tone. That anxiety was reflected on the others faces as well, excluding Verity and Alpha who seemed indifferent. Uneasily Artemis walked inside and the others in tow. They flooded into the room but remained close to the door as it clicked shut.

“Please sit down.... Take a chair as needed.” Calamity said from the shadows. Artemis looked and saw a stack of folded chairs neatly stacked on one another. She nodded to her companions to follow her to get their chairs.

“She was right, you all do remind me of us back then.” Calamity commented glumly as they situated their chairs in front of his desk. Artemis did not know how to respond and remained silent.

Once they were all situated the general leaned over his desk and turned on his lamp. In a second the darkness that masked his face was purged. What Artemis saw surprised her but then again what had she expected?

General Calamity was a rust colored Pegasus stallion with with an orange mane that was beginning to gray. His face bore a grimace that gave testimony to the violence he had seen over the course of his life. Calamity was up in his years, he wore his wrinkles well but it was prevalent he was old enough to have been in the Enclave War.

He wore a green suit with a black tie. The suit was heavily decorated with badges and medals of all sorts. His suit collar had five golden dashes on the ends of each side. Safe to say he was very well renowned and important to the NCR.

“Father I...” Serendipity began but Calamity interrupted her.

“I heard you left Old Maremon, go to your room and your mother and I will discuss your blatant disregard of our rules young lady.” Calamity said stoney but calmly. Did everyone in this family have a gene that enabled you to order people to their rooms or something? Serendipity sighed and nodded defeated, she rose and left her father's office with her head lowered.

“So now, on to our business.” General Calamity began by leaning back in his chair.

“What is our business?” Artemis asked trying to mask her anxiety.

Calamity leaned back casually in his chair but still looked official in his suit and tie. “Well, first order of business is yer reward, y'all did save my daughter after all.” He spoke in a strangely folkish accent that quite frankly didn’t fit a general of his rank really but it was obvious that decades of being behind a desk had whittled away his rural tongue.

“Whatever you heart desires.” He added in a frivolous tone.

Artemis almost rejected his hospitality seeing that Serendipity did purchase Aroma's cybernetics but something did manifest in her mind. It seemed like a thought that was not her own but yet she felt compelled to ask the general.

“We, we want to know about your radio stations.” Artemis answered Calamity's offer. This caught him off guard and he raised an eyebrow suspiciously and sat up close to his desk.

“Why?” He asked defensively.

Artemis was silent. She was inquiring about the number station, she was trying to coax any information out of him. From his posture and body language the radio obviously meant something to him or she had asked a potentially personal question.

“Because, I'm looking for something or... someone.” Artemis said trying to remain vague about the number station.

Calamity simply tapped his hooves together in an indifferent motion. “A native of the San Palomino wouldn't understand but our radios are a big part of our culture and history.”

“I guess I wouldn't...” Artemis responded.

“No, you wouldn't.” Calamity cut.

He stood to his hooves and walked over to one of his windows. He held a hoof to it and looked outside longingly. Now Artemis noticed several more very important attributes of the old Pegasus. First, one of his wings had a metallic brace spanning it's length, he was a cyberpony just like Aroma. The next detail was even more disturbing. His cutie mark was, not his own. Artemis recognized that symbol as the cutie mark of Rainbow Dash, the mare of the MoA. As Artemis connected the pieces she began to see an alarming picture of Calamity.

That cutie mark proclaimed him a dashite, exiles of the Grand Pegasus Enclave. Since the Enclave was no more the dashite would go extinct with them. This meant that not only had Calamity been in the Enclave Wars, but a full fledged member of the Enclave military! What had Calamity done all those years ago and what got him kicked out of the Enclave?

Calamity sighed in disappointment looking outside. “We, the NCR. We used to mean something, I was there when we all decided to make NCR a reality. It was at the height of the war, we were all just kids back then fighting the Enclave and making up the rules as we went along.”

Artemis glanced to Verity while Calamity's back was turned towards the windows. Verity shrugged signaling that he did not know what to do besides wait for the general to finish his story. Verity actually seemed intent on hearing the general's tale.

“Our radio station was hope back then. It showed the Enclave and the wasteland that all was not lost, that we were still very alive and kicking. But, now, things have changed...” He recounted with a mix of longing, melancholy and sadness.

“What's wrong with today?” Aroma asked kindly.

Calamity sighed. “We've got old world blues I reckon...” He answered. Aroma didn't quite understand what his phrase meant unfortunately.

“It's when you're so obsessed with the past that you can't see the present, nor the future.” Calamity explained glumly.

There was a long pregnant pause as silence engulfed the room. Calamity continued to gaze longingly out his window. The orange light of the sunset illuminated his face and tired eyes. Artemis began to feel uneasy, the general had derailed the conversation with his recollections. The expressions of the others displayed worry as well. Artemis wanted to interrupt the general nicely but failed to find the correct cue to do so. Calamity continued his lament.

“At the beginning the New Canterlot Republic was about everypony comin' together to make a better future, to help ponies, to do what ponies were meant to do.” Calamity sighed heavily.

“Worst part is, we did for a time. We helped ponies, and we thrived as a new nation. But now, now things've changed.”

“Now we've become massive and stagnant. We're about rules, laws and politicians. They bicker about while there's work to be done and ponies get hurt because of our hesitation and debates.”

“Then we found the dam. We sent out scouts to find more star batteries but instead they found this place. Our leaders mobilized our army and sent us out here, and we restored the dam to working order thus giving our citizens the gift of electricity again.”

“That sounds like a great thing you did for your people general.” Lady said gently trying to cheer him up. Calamity only nodded disheartened.

“It was, for a time. But soon we became Equestria, we now fight and die here to defend the dam. We exchange blood to keep the lights on, just like the world before.” Calamity finished dispirited.

Calamity's words took hold on Artemis's mind. He was right, Equestria had died in a war for resources. Ponies died in droves just so the people back home could continue to flip a switch, listen to the radio, talk on a phone or ride a train. It was awful to imagine, a huge machine that needed to be fed people to continue running. Bloody bones and gore snapping and mashing in it's great gears as they churned to generate the power and worst of all the ponies would do it with a smile to keep their machine running. Blood for electricity...

“I see you understand now Artemis.” Calamity said dourly but glad someone else understood.

Artemis was about to agree when a thought came to her mind. “Wait, how did you know my name?” She asked puzzled.

Calamity gave a subtle smirk. “An old friend of mine told me.”

“Who is this friend?” Verity asked.

Calamity shrugged and seemed to look into the sky from his window. “No one, but sometimes I wonder if she looks down on us and is ashamed.”

Calamity finally finished his lamentation and stepped away from his window and collapsed back into his leather chair. He was a tragic figure. Artemis felt sorry for the old Pegasus, Calamity didn't want to be a general he just wanted to save ponies from danger. But now he lived in a golden prison. This office is his posh cell. His uniform an ornate inmate suit. His badges and government responsibilities were anchors, anvils, and chains keeping him from flying high into the sky. Artemis believed he would happily cast off his hat and suit for the weathered black desperado hat that rested on a hat pole and the dusty aged battle-saddle in the corner of the room.  Calamity was a slave no more than Artemis's mother except in a metaphoric sense.

“I'm sorry you had to hear that spew, I just don't have a lot of people to talk to. I try to hide my discontent from the troops for morale’s sake.” Calamity apologized and dug into a drawer in his desk. He removed a key ring with two keys on it and tossed it to Artemis.

“There's your reward for saving Serendipity, it's an apartment in New Appaloosa.” He said beginning to retire from the conversation.

A home? Artemis never really had a home before. A place to call her own, where she could hang her rifle at the end of the day. A place they could all live. It was a very gracious gift indeed.

“Oh wow thank you general.” Artemis said happily, although she masked her disappointment in Calamity for dodging her question about NCR's radio stations.

“And I didn't forget your question about the radio either. If you want to talk about the stations then you want Dj Pon3 in Manehattan, Tenpony Tower to be exact. Tell his assistant, an older mare named Homage, tell her Calamity says thirty-one. She'll know you're legitimate then.” Calamity explained ambiguously. Artemis could never guess what thirty-one could mean to this Homage character but that was a bridge to cross in the future.

“I'll remember that.” Artemis said as she saved a new note in her pipbuck.

“Now if you'll excuse me I need to talk to my daughter. Maybe we'll see each other again.” Calamity said cordially, but Artemis knew they would meet again very soon in the coming battle for Hoofer Dam.

Just as the group was leaving Artemis turned back to Calamity who was simply sitting as his desk not seeming to do anything but play with a peculiar radio.

“General..” Artemis said quietly, almost a whisper. Calamity raised an eyebrow.

“You, you be careful out here. This is Legion country, they're ruthless, just be ready for an attack okay.” Artemis felt compelled to warn the weary general.

Calamity almost smiled. “Thanks, I'll put my men on watch.”

“Hurry on now, you're on a quest. But I figured you could use a place to unload your equipment and unwind so I suggest visiting New Appaloosa first then heading where you'd be headed.” Calamity suggested.

“Yes, thanks again general.” Artemis told him nicely as she hugged the door to leave.

“And, please call me Calamity.” The general- Calamity said warmly.

“Artemis...” Calamity added once again although this time in a hushed whisper.

“Yes Calamity?” Artemis answered edging her way out.

“The closet makes noises, but don't hire an exterminator and if you find the truth, keep it a secret until we speak again.” Calamity told her. That creeped Artemis out to no end. Was this apartment haunted or something?

But she didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth so Artemis nodded politely and left, being sure to close the door quietly. Outside the office the heavy troopers were still gone and her friends were all huddled about whispering to one another about the recent discussion. She handed the apartment key to Aroma since Artemis had no saddlebags on her person at the moment.

“What did you think of all that Arty?” Hans asked in a hushed tone.

Artemis rolled her eyes and shrugged her head. “I dunno, he seemed so-”

“Caution: Perhaps we should leave the dam before discussing the general. It is highly likely that we may be under surveillance from the three cameras in this hallway.”

Verity nodded agreeing with Alpha. “Yes, I concur with the machine. We should hold our tongues for the present.”

Artemis became more and more antsy the longer they lingered at the dam. The group walked the claustrophobic halls of the dam's concrete, steel reinforced interior. More posters adorned the inside with more pro-NCR propaganda. After reading a small directory they made their way to a service elevator.

No elevator music accompanied their ride, just the nervous rumble rumble of the gears moving the cart. Artemis glanced around at her companions. Verity, Aroma, Hans, Alpha, Hayseed and Lady. To think that is was barely a whole month before her life was turned upside down and she was forever saddled to these people in the quest for the number station. You had Aroma the quirky and shy engineer. Hans the raunchy and hedonistic gunslinger who had been with Artemis since the beginning. Verity the emotionless Legion centurion that was now her lover. You had Alpha the mysterious assassin mech. Although Artemis knew little about him or it, knowing the colorful characters they seemed to pick up he'd fit along just fine. Sheesh! Verity was right, they really do sound like characters in a bad bedtime story!

Ding! The elevator opened. The sky burned a fiery orange as the sun lowered giving way to night. The wagon pulled up to the gate leading into the NCR. Several soldiers exited the vehicle as did some troops from the back, they carried several boxes with stamps on them.

“Who's the owner of this vehicle?” A trooper asked the group.

“We do, sir.” Hayseed replied and trotted to the stallion.

“Very well, here take this.” He said and indifferently and somewhat snobbishly. He handed Hayseed a file with several papers in it held together by a paperclip.

“Those are some papers you need to fill out so you can be registered. You'll need a drivers license to drive it on NCR roads and we discovered this as well.” The stallion said and pulled out a small crumpled piece of paper.

“What's it say?” Artemis asked making sure this stallion wasn't causing to much trouble although there was little she could do. He had the system on his side...

The soldier wrapped the paper in his telekinesis. “It's a document. Apparently this vehicle was a prisoner transport from the Shattered Hoof Correctional Facility. You'll have to take it to Shattered Hoof and get it documented and return it to them.”

“Like hell! It's mine, I found it AND repaired it, she's mine!” Hayseed erupted. Him and the trooper argued over this for a good minute. Artemis saw where Hayseed was coming, she would be irate in the same situation as well. Several soldiers in the backdrop were beginning to look nervous. Artemis decided to try and split up the argument before a soldier pulled out a gun. But that all stopped with her.

“Oh, please gentleponies.” An innocent voice whispered but every NCR troop halted.

There, not three feet away stood an older charcoal unicorn. She wore a decorated medic's uniform and a small pair of glasses on her face. Her mane was snow white with stripes of red and yellow running across it. She walked with an air of compassion and grace Artemis hadn't seen since she last saw her mother. This mare walked over to Hayseed and the soldier and gingerly wrapped the document in her magic.

“What document were you two arguing about?” She inquired nicely.

Before either one could answer the mare crumpled the paper and tossed it with her magic. The ball fell over Hoofer Dam never to be seen again. She returned her sweet gaze to Hayseed and his opponent. The soldier was wordless and slowly turned and withdrew, defeated.

“Wow, thank you ma'am.” Hayseed said gratefully.

She chuckled lightly. “Oh, ma'am, you make me feel so old. Here Calamity wanted me to give you this, silly old stallion would forget his tail if it wasn't stuck to him.” She said as she handed Hayseed a badge. He looked at it ignorant of it's purpose. Luckily the mare discovered this and took the liberty to explain.

“That's a Ranger Badge. It should help you get around NCR without getting stuck in our bureaucratic nonsense. A good friend told me you might need it.” She explained pleasantly. Who the hell was this good friend people kept mentioning anyway?

Before Artemis could ask that very question the older medic pony turned to her with another package. “And this is for you Artemis, it's a radio you can use to call Rusty and some rangers when you need some backup, but it'll only work while your in the NCR.” She levitated Artemis a small device, it was less a radio and more of a small black box with a red button inside.

“Oh, why thank you, Mrs. Remedy.” Artemis thanked and read the name tag on her medic coat.

“Oh thank you for saving my daughter.” Velvet replied. So this was Serendipity and Rusty's mother. That meant Calamity was her husband, Artemis couldn't help but aww inside. They were a charmingly rustic couple. Artemis imagined when they slept, how cute it must be.

“Aww shoot Mrs. Remedy it's no problem, we just did what, y'know, anyone else, would've y'know.” Artemis mumbled and tripped over her words.

Velvet must have found her mumblings endearing. She gave a quaint smile. “Speaking of Serendipity, me and Calamity have to go speak with her. Ta ta.” Artemis imagined it must be more cute than scary when she was angered.

“Wait!” Artemis whispered to Velvet. She turned around expectantly towards Artemis.

“Yes, is there something else?” She asked kindly.

“Your husband gave me a key to an apartment, but he also said something else. Is the apartment haunted?” Artemis asked worriedly.

Velvet smiled gently. “Oh no dear, what he means is that there is something for you in the closet. But I pray you, when you find it keep quiet about it until the time is right.” Velvet implored in hushed voice.

“....” Artemis was unsure about what this meant but she felt like she was being left out of the know and that put her on edge. “Okay, Mrs. Remedy, I'll keep calm about whatever I find.”Artemis promised.

~Later~

Artemis started packing the boxes back into the wagon along with the others. However, Hayseed had some parting words for the soldiers.

“Here's my Ranger Badge, now get the hell away from my stuff!” Hayseed said triumphantly over the NCR troops who scurried off back to their positions. After prancing excitedly he made his way back to the wagon as the others were getting onboard.

“Think you enjoyed yourself a little much dear?” Lady commented snidely as she lifted one foal into the bus.

Hayseed smiled and tilted his head. “Hmm, nah! I think I did it just right.” He answered and climbed into the driver seat.

Artemis eavesdropped as she began to unload the boxes. That was something she always wanted. Whatever you called it, love, companionship, it was something she always wanted but was afraid to act on those feelings and wants. Until White Tail that was, but there was always the fear of losing him or them breaking up. That was something that had always kept Artemis from gathering the courage to break that wall. But maybe she really could have that with Verity. It seemed like a pipe dream at best but hell she blew up a tank with him so their relationship had some mettle right? She felt confident in their relationship and that good with her.

Finally she unpacked her famas and began to reassemble it after the inspectors had disassembled it. Aroma yawned and laid down in a seat to catch some z's. Verity glanced at Artemis but when she met his eyes he quickly but smoothly turned his eyes elsewhere, was he checking her out? It seemed out of character for him but it brought Artemis smug satisfaction that she was aesthetically pleasing to him. She would be lying if she said she had never checked him out in return, maybe he had caught he before and got this same satisfaction. Alpha seemed to scan everyone, his gaze moved from person to person. Last but not least Hans waved goodbye and blew a kiss to an officer behind the wagon.

“Goodbye honey, stay alive now.” Hans said femininely and daintily waved his hoof goodbye. Artemis smiled.

“Who's your love now?” She asked with a smirk. She knew she couldn't offend Hans in thousand year, not after all the stunts they pulled together.

“A Quartermaster, or he's an officer whatever. He'll be a nice present for when we come back one day.” Hans answered with his eyes facing dam as the wagon began to drive away.

“You won't break off from the battle for a quickie now will you?” Artemis joked.

“Hmm, maybe just a quick one. No penetration, unless I'm feeling brave.” He smirked.

Artemis chuckled. “I wouldn't put it past you.”

They laughed and joked as the wagon drove from the dam into the NCR. Artemis didn't know what awaited them there, but this really was happening wasn't it? Leaving the San Palomino and the Legion... it felt great, like an elephant was off your back or maybe you just traded one elephant for a different elephant.

However one thing still lingered in Artemis's forethought. Why had Calamity and Velvet Remedy been so intent about the closet at this apartment? Was there a ghost, was it really haunted? Personally Artemis didn't believe in ghost.. sort of, though those two green mares were certainly not of the mortal plane. Maybe there was some kind of weapon she could use to fight? Or maybe it could be some kind of clue about the number station? That last one sounded the most plausible but Artemis couldn't shake the feeling that she was merely a pawn for someone, or perhaps multiple persons in a grand game for control of the wasteland....

Next Chapter: Chapter 19 - And You Shall Know The Truth... Estimated time remaining: 4 Hours, 16 Minutes