Chapter 30 - Turnabout
“Just when I think I have learned the way to live, life changes.”

My muscles stiffened as I lowered myself to launch. As I was about to leap upwards and begin flapping, two strong claws grabbed my shoulders and pinned me down.

“Whoa! Where do you think you’re going?” Gertie asked me, digging her claws into my skin.

“I gotta go stop this!” I cried back.

“Yeah?” Gertie remarked. “You and what army? You’d be crazy to fly off on your own.”

I struggled against Gertie’s strong grip. “I can’t…” I grumbled. “I can’t…”

“Put you all at risk,” they all grumbled in response.

“C’mon, Dust, isn’t this argument getting a little old,” Gertie shot back. “Dust, we’re at risk whether we are with you or not. Isn’t that much obvious by now?”

“Yeah, Dust. We are all at risk,” Brownie’s voice echoed in my head. “Some of us, though, arn’t at risk anymore, huh?”

Silver walked up to me and placed her hooves on my shoulders. She looked me right in the eyes. “Dust,” she said, solemnly. “We are with you in this one hundred percent. We all know what could happen and we accept the risk. You need us and we want to help you. We won’t take no for an answer.”

“And don’t ya think that it’s not just ya that has a stake in this, do ya?” Flower added, strongly. “If ya go on yer own, ya’ll lose. And then Foggy, One, and Brownie woulda died fer nothin’. It’s not just about ya anymore.”

“I can’t just sit here and do nothing!” I cried. “Who knows what they are doing to those poor ponies! Besides, unless something changed, they still need me alive. Even if I get captured, I’m still relatively safe. And as long as the General thinks he can convince me, we have time on our side!”

“So what are we going to do?” Gertie asked, looking a little uneasy.

“We’re gonna go see what’s going on,” I stated. “Then we decide what to do from there. We’ll go in low and I’ll get as close as I can, safely. You three will cover me from a distance.” My friends looked nervously between each other. “Guys, I promise. I won’t put myself at risk unnecessarily. Observe and report… I swear.”

“Al… alright,” Silver said, still looking me right in the eyes.

“Gear up and meet here in five,” I ordered and we all took off to the inn.

---

Within about ten minutes, we were airborne heading towards the town under siege by the Thunderhead. Gertie was flying point, just in case we attracted unwanted attention.

As soon as I could see the edge of town, I set the wagon down and Gertie unhooked me. Flower and Silver came out of the cabin and walked over to us.

Pulling out my binoculars, I looked towards town but could only see the ruined wall of the buildings on the perimeter. “Damn it!” I muttered. “I can’t see into the center of town… too many ruins blocking the view.” After pondering for several moments, I added, “I’m going to have to go in and get a closer look.”

“You sure, Dust?” Silver asked, her voice wavering a little.

“Gertie, you find a place to set up overwatch. Flower, Silver, you’re her spotter and guard,” I ordered. “I’m gonna get as close as I need to see what’s going on and then I’m going to head back. If anything goes sideways, I’ll get my ass out of there.”

Everypony nodded in agreement and they took off, following Gertie’s lead. Scanning the horizon, I found a path that would provide me with decent cover, even from air recon. I was going to have to weave my way between random outcroppings and burned out buildings, but it would allow me to get close enough to survey the town.

After a few close calls from patrolling fliers, I made my way near the outskirts of town. I made my way through the crumbled wall of a pre-war two story house. The structure was surprisingly intact on the inside. Most of the walls were still standing and the doors were unexpectedly still in place. The window panes were still in place, albeit covered with centuries of muck. I found the staircase that led to the second floor and found a window that overlooked most of the town.

Crouching low, I went to the nearest window which was missing one pane. Cautiously, I peeked out through the window into the town below.

While I was still a decent distance from the center of town, due to the crumbled buildings between my house and the center of town, I had a mostly unobstructed view. Most of the cobbled together buildings were streaking smoke through large holes. A few fires were still burning in some of the outlying buildings. Several Enclave skywagons were parked in the middle of town, their drivers still harnessed in. The passenger compartments were open and ponies were being guided into them. The ponies themselves were shuffling into the wagons since their hooves were bound by leg-irons.

“Son of a bitch,” I muttered quietly to myself. Muddy and the General had given up all pretense. They were outright assaulting the Wasteland and taking prisoners. I could only imagine they were all being herded to the manor and put to work in the hydroponics facility moving and loading cargo.

An old stallion collapsed while waiting his turn in line. Two of the Enclave driving the line walked up to him. One of the soldiers jabbed him with the barrel of the energy rifle. The old stallion attempted to get up, but fell back down to the ground. You could see from the contorted features on his face, he was in pain. Without any hesitation, one of the guards aimed and fired his energy rifle, turning the stallion into a glowing, pink cloud.

The rest of the ponies in line jumped away from the dead pony, only to be battered by other guards carrying clubs. In short order, the ponies fell back in line and shuffled into the wagons. Two of the wagons closed the passenger compartments and took off. They headed to the west, towards the Manny’s house.

Having seen enough, I crept away from the window and snuck my way out the back of the house. Weaving my way back between cover, I made my way back to the skywagon. My friends joined me shortly thereafter.

“They’re taking the population,” I announced, not even waiting for the question. “They’re loading them up into the skywagons and taking them away. I can only imagine they are taking them to the Manny’s to work.”

“They’re taking slaves now?” Silver gasped.

“Looks that way…” I admitted. “If they can’t get the towers to work, I guess they’re going to put the facility into overdrive. From what I saw there, the growing room was huge, and I don’t know how many of them there are. The Mr. Handy’s do the farming, but they need the ponies to move it around.”

“So, what are we gonna do about it?” Gertie asked. “Is this just a ploy to get you to help them?”

The silence between us was palpable. There was no easy answer. To go to this level of aggression meant there was no stopping the operation at the hydroponics facility. Even if I now agreed to open the SPP towers, I doubt they would just pack up and leave. We had to find a way to make it so there was no reason for them to stay. We had to get rid of the facility.

“We have to blow it,” I announced gravely. My friends looked at me with a quizzical look on their faces. “We have to shut down the facility. At least then they’ll stop herding ponies to work in it.”

“That’s all well and good, Dust,” Gertie objected, crossing her arms in front of her. “But it’s not like we can just stroll in there. You know that place is like a fortress now and it’s only the four of us, two of which have formal combat training. And, no offense Silver, but after that only Flower is proficient. And even if we did have enough ponypower to fight, how would we shut it down?”

Another uneasy silence fell over the group. We needed to shut down the facility. Or at the very least, make it not worth the effort. And it had to be something that could be done quickly.

“If only we could blow the entrance,” Flower mused. “It would be nearly impossible ta get back in. We’d lose the food ourselves, but at least they would lose it, too.”

“Yeah, but how would we get explosives in there?” Silver asked.

The revelation crashed down on me. We wouldn’t have to get inside the facility… just close.

“You gotta close yer mouth, Dust,” Flower chuckled. “Otherwise bugs’ll fly in there.”

“We don’t have to get explosives in there,” I muttered, beginning to dig around my saddlebags furiously. “I already did,” I announced as I pulled out the detonator. “After Muddy captured you guys, I planted some explosives near the entrance. Should be enough to collapse it. We just have to get close, and boom.”

“But won’t that cause us to lose the food also?” Silver asked.

“Yeah, but we can always get enough ponies to help us dig out,” I answered. “Besides, the only way the Enclave will leave is if they think the facility is a loss.”

“That’s good an’ all,” Flower responded, not as excited as I was. “But what about all the ponies inside already?”

Shit… I hadn’t thought about the Wastelanders working inside. We had to get them out first.

“Hey, Dust, do ya remember that stable we were in outside of Nickerson?” Flower asked, her face scrunched up as she tried to remember details.

Ugh… I couldn’t even remember the stable number. But as I was trying to deactivate the security system, I accidentally triggered an environmental system malfunction. The stable’s systems kicked in and started closing off sections of the stable as it tried to herd us outside. “Yes, Flower,” I groaned. “I already apologized for that…”

“No.. I’m not looking fer an apology,” she said, cutting me off. “Do ya think the facility has a system like that?”

“If it’s Stable-Tec, sure,” I mused. “But we have no idea if it’s Stable-Tec or not. But it sure did look like a stable. Well, except for the grow rooms.”

“So, if we triggered the same type of situation, whether or not it is Stable-Tec, wouldn’t the same thing happen?” Gertie asked.

“Perhaps,” I muttered as my mind raced. “I mean, from what I’ve seen, most of the computer systems were set up by Stable-Tec. And even if they licensed their tech to somepony else…” I drifted off as my mind raced. Every system I’ve hacked has always had the same functionality. Even those terminals not found in stables. Could this really work?

“OK… but how do we get in?” I asked. “They’re not just going to let us in. And last time we were there, there were two guards at the front door.”

“I could distract them,” Gertie called out. “Do a quick little fly by and they’ll be all over me.”

“No, that won’t work,” I disagreed. “The two guards will radio it in and they will call in flyers to get you. The target needs to be something they can’t pass up…” There was only one pony that fit that bill. “It has to be me…”

“No!” Silver cried out. “You can’t give yourself up to Muddy… who knows what he’ll do to you now.”

“That’s why you guys will come in and save me,” I chuckled. “I’ll distract Muddy and the General as long as I can. Then you guys will break in and save me. If I know Muddy and the General, they’ll bring me to Manny’s former office, with the big window.”

A sly grin spread on Gertie’s face. “Ah, a smash and grab,” she said with a chuckle.

“How do you know they’ll take you there, Dust?” Silver asked, cocking her head to one side.

“It’s like his office up in the base. He’ll probably stick with what’s familiar,” I said with a shrug. “So, Gertie, Silver, are either of you good with terminals?”

---

After finding a useless terminal in the junk shop in town, I took about an hour teaching Silver and Gertie how to break into the terminal’s admin functions. This should allow them to trigger the environmental alarm, assuming something unusual didn’t come up. Silver seemed to pick it up faster than Gertie. Then again, pony terminals weren’t made with griffin claws in mind, it seemed.

After stocking up on ammo and first aid supplies, we gathered back at the skywagon. As I moved into position to get harnessed in, Flower began shifting uncomfortably. I gave Silver a concerned look and she stopped hooking me up.

“Flower, is everything OK?” I asked, moving towards her.

“It’s noth…” she bagan, but then stopped. “Dust, ah know there’s a lot on the line… and ah know we need ta leave quickly… and I know we don’t have…”

“Flower, it’s OK, what is it?” I asked, placing a hoof on her shoulder.

“Dust, ah know we have nothing ta bury,” she started, shifting between her hooves again. “But can we have a service fer Brownie… please?” she asked, tears forming in her eyes. “Ah don’t need no marker or anything… ah just want to have a service fer him.”

“I d…” I struggled to start, a pit forming in my stomach. How could I say no? “Alright, I have an idea… let’s go find a place.”

Going back into one of the shops, I bartered for a small metal tub. Gertie carried it through town, and I found a small pile of scrap wood that appeared nopony was interested in and grabbed that as well. We made our way outside of town.

“Dust, I don’t mean to sound insensitive here, but what the hell are you doing?” Gertie whispered to me.

“Watch and see,” I responded with a smirk.

After a short walk, we found a small rise and made our way to the top. I gestured to Gertie and she put the tub down at the spot I indicated. I piled up the wood into a small mound.

“A funeral pyre?” Silver asked.

“Old Enclave tradition,” I answered. “No place for cemeteries, so we burn all of our dead. Also, a lot of military fliers don’t come back from missions and we still have services.”

Flower had already figured out what I intended to do and found some brush. She placed it around the pile of wood in the tub. Gertie took out her flint and lit the kindling. Soon, the fire spread to the wood and we had a crackling fire.

After the fire established itself, Flower took a few steps closer and opened her mouth to speak. After attempting to get words, she hung her head. “Dust,” she mumbled. “Ah just can’t. Would ya mind?”

“Of course not, Flower,” I responded. I stepped towards the pyre and Flower fell in besides me. I could sense Gertie and Silver drawing close, also.

“Brownie was probably the best example of us,” I started. “He was always willing to give of himself to help out another pony. My first week down here, he saw me sitting alone, albeit intentionally, and engaged me in friendly conversation.” A small chuckle escaped my mouth. “I brushed him off rudely. He was compromising my mission, after all. But Brownie never gave up, and he became a good friend. He looked out for me on early scav missions until I got my hooves underneath me. And even after, he still looked out for me.

“But he wasn’t just a good friend to me. He was fiercely loyal to those he cared for. It didn’t matter who you were, he would be there for you in a heartbeat. He would face down hordes of ghouls if it meant helping another pony,” I said with another chuckle at the end. “I’m just glad we never had to test that.”

“And I could only imagine how he felt about you, Flower,” I added, looking right at Flower. “Knowing what I have felt about love and if the way he treated his friends was any indication of how he treated the one he truly loved, you were everything to him, and he would have been everything for you, too.

My speech was broken by a deep sigh. “Unfortunately, he was taken from us, too soon and very unfairly. But the Wasteland is a cruel master. It often takes and rarely gives. And even though we wish we had him for longer, we will always cherish the time we did have with him. He will live long in our minds, and even longer in our hearts.” After pausing, I looked at my companions. “This next part is a little awkward. Usually we say from the clouds from which we came, but that doesn’t seem appropriate here.” The words slowly came into my head. Mustering all the resolve I could, I took a deep breath. “From the dirt from which he was born, back to the dirt he returns. May Celestia and Luna watch over Brownie as he takes his final journey.”

After the last word left my mouth and the world around us fell silent except for the fire, Flower, buried her head into my shoulder. Silver did the same, albeit, I assume, for different reasons. Gertie simply gave me a terse nod.

We waited until the fire burned out before heading back to the skywagon. On the short walk over, Flower leaned in close to me. “Thank ya, Dust. Ya really cared fer Brownie, didn’t ya?”

“Like a brother, Flower, like a brother,” I admitted.

After getting to the skywagon, Flower entered the passenger compartment, while Silver helped me into my harness. “That was really nice, Dust,” she complimented.

“It’s a skill I wish I didn’t have,” I retorted. “I hope I never need to use it again. But I think we both know…” I trailed off, leaving unsaid what we both knew was true.

As had become habit at this point, Silver stayed in the cabin with Flower while Gertie flew point with me. After such a somber event, the few attempts at conversation seemed hollow and we flew the rest of the way in silence.

On the way to the manor house, we had to reroute a couple of times to avoid Enclave patrols or other skyships we could see in the distance. We didn’t want to spoil what little element of surprise we did have on our side.

Gertie and I agreed that landing in the same spot we hid before was a good idea. The skywagon would be invisible from ponies on the ground. Aerial patrols would be a different problem as there was no cover anywhere nearby.

“Alright, here’s how this goes down,” I began as everypony congregated. “Flower, find a good overwatch position.” I saw her begin to object. “No questions on this… there’s no way you’re getting in and out of that complex on hoof. Gertie and Silver… you two will wait for me to distract the guards at the entrance to the facility. Once they are clear, you should be able to make an entrance. Get in, trigger the environmental alarm and get the Tartarus out of there…” An evil grin spread across my face. “And then come save me.”

“Dust,” Gertie began to argue. “Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean giving yourself over to Muddy like this?”

“It’s the only way I can think of doing this,” I said, shaking my head. “We need to get the guards away from the door and you need time. This is the best I’ve come up with… do you have any better ideas?” The last part came out with more of an attitude than I intended. All of my friends shook their heads uncomfortably.

“Alright then,” I said. “Everypony ready?”

After a round of head nods, Flower trotted away towards a small rise a few hundred yards away. I kicked off the ground and began flapping my wings, banking towards the manor house itself. Silver and Gertie began a arcing path around the outskirts of what we assumed was visual range of the pegasi. They would come in from over the mountainside that housed the facility.

On the flight over, my mind was not racing at a mile a minute, which was a new feeling for me. I knew my plan, I knew my purpose, and I knew my reasons, and I was at peace with all of it. Yes, things might go horribly, but at least I was finally doing something, and for the right reasons. I also trusted my friends and knew that it wasn’t all on my shoulders. They were trusting me to do my part, and I was relying on them to do theirs. All in all, it was… empowering.

Stealth wasn’t the name of the game here. I wanted to draw as much attention as possible and draw as many guards away from their posts as I could. But the guards at the facility were the goal. Keeping low, and having my weapons stowed, I flew right by the manor house. All the better for Muddy and the general to see me coming. Taking a casual pace, I flew a meandering course around the grounds. Slave ponies looked up at me in awe while their Enclave guards didn’t seem to know what to make of it, but they were all following my progress. Some were even powering their weapons. However, the grounds were woefully underponied.

I made sure to land close to the facility guards. They had already powered their battle saddle-mounted energy rifles.

“Halt! You will leave the area immediately!” one of the guards bellowed at me. Some of the slaves dragging carts out of the facility stopped to watch what was about to happen.

“Alright, but if you don’t want to make the General happy, I’ll understand,” I mocked, still approaching them.

“What do you mean, dirtpony?” the same guard growled.

“Oh, I don’t know. Names Dust Cloud,” I said, somewhat singing. “Or maybe you know me as Updraft?” The flash of recognition is what I was waiting for. “Ah, I see you know me. Well, I’m here to turn myself in and negotiate with the General.”

I saw some movement in the sky above the ridge. Looked like Gertie and Silver were getting into position. Even though I knew it was all in my head, I could feel Flower’s gaze through her scope at my back. All of this made my confidence soar.

One of the guards approached as the other scanned the area for threats. “And why are you turning yourself in?” the guard asked.

“Well, that’s between me and the General,” I responded. “But I’d hurry, I’m sure that some of the other guards are coming and only the ones to actually turn me in will get the commendations.”

The guard approaching me stopped with a gleam in his eye. He turned his head to his partner, who had a similar look in his eye. The only reaction was a short nod. The two approached me and flanked me on both sides. Before, turning around to begin my escort to the house, I saw Gertie and Flower quietly drop in behind and quickly enter the tunnel. Phase one accomplished.

The two guards were talking excitedly about how they would use their new promotions to their advantage. Mostly, they just wanted out of the “Luna forsaken wasteland” and would ask for a transfer. Couldn’t say I blamed them.

The other ponies we passed on the way had mixed reactions. Most of the slaves were mainly confused why pegasi were escorting another pegasus to the house. Most of the other pegasi started as confused, but then you could see their eyes widen as they realized who I was.

The walk was rather uneventful. With two soldiers in tow, nopony stopped us any further. They guided me all the way into the house and back into the opulent office I had met with Manny what felt like years ago. How long had it really been? Weeks? Months?

Sitting behind the desk now, however, was the General. Standing behind him, shuffling on his hooves uncomfortably, was Muddy. Muddy was now wearing a navy blue flight suit and was wearing the insignia of a colonel.

I felt every muscle in my body tense up as I saw Muddy for the first time since Brownie’s death. Fighting every instinct I had to jump across the room and strangle him, I fought the emotions down and kept my cool. “Congratulations on the promotion, Muddy,” I lied.

“Dust, this is a huge surprise,” he sneered back. “How are your friends?”

“Brownie’s dead, Flower and Silver are alive,” I deadpanned, trying not to betray my true feelings. I didn’t need them to know they could get to me.

“Sorry to hear that, Dust,” the General offered. “Hopefully it was a good death.”

“It wasn’t,” I shot back. “Your little lapdog saw to that.”

Muddy growled and began to approach. The General shot a leg out to the side, blocking his path. Muddy grimaced as he dutifully resumed his position behind the General.

“Now, to what do we owe this honor?” the General asked, as civil as if he were asking about the weather.

Here’s where the rubber meets the road. “I’m done,” I said, sighing in resignation as best I could. “I can’t deal with all the death. You win.”

“Death? What do you mean?” the General said, recoiling in surprise.

“Your little slaver squads, rounding up those that can work and summarily executing those that can’t,” I fired back. The anger in this statement was real. “There’s no reason for any of this.”

The General turned to look at Muddy. “Seems like my second in command has taken excessive liberties with my orders. I’ll deal with this later,” he said, seemingly trying to comfort me. The muscles in Muddy’s jaw tensed and I could hear his teeth grinding. “Now, when you say you’re done, does that mean…”

“Yes, it means I’ll help you get into the SPP towers,” I interrupted him, feigning impatience. “But I have conditions.”

“No, it doesn’t work that way,” Muddy growled.

“Now, now, Muddy,” the General smooth voice broke through the objection. “Why can’t we at least hear him out. We aren’t animals after all.”

Muddy’s body tensed. I thought he was going to explode.

“I want the attacks on Wasteland settlements to end,” I began. “No more prisoners, no more deaths.”

“Easy enough,” the General said with a laugh. His teal eyes, which I once found calming, now seemed cunning and calculative. I could tell he was sizing me up, planning his next moves. “Besides, with the towers, we won’t need the facility.”

How I wished I could believe that. He wouldn’t give up on this facility. “And my friends and family, they will not be pursued for any crimes against the Enclave. It’s as if none of this has happened.”

“But then what do you suggest I say to the families of the soldiers you and your friends have killed?” he responded. His comments didn’t seem genuine. He was calculating.

“C’mon General. You and I both know this won’t be the first time you have to make up some brahmin shit answer to tell the families. How many soldiers have been lost down here, never to return?” I asked, countering his ploy. “Besides, it’s not my problem.”

The General sighed. “Fair enough, is that all?”

“And I get a full pardon,” I continued.

Muddy gasped. “No fucking way,” he blurted out.

The General raised a hoof. “Now, Dust, that is a tall order,” he retorted. “You have committed many crimes against the Enclave. Treason is a big problem.”

“General, let’s be frank,” I argued back. “You need me. All I am asking is to be left alone so I don’t have to look over my shoulder the rest of my life.”

“Dust, this I can not do for you,” the General said with a sigh. “This would be too big to hide from the public…”

“You misunderstand me, General,” I answered, shaking my head. “I don’t want to go back. I’ll stay down here. I just want your word that you won’t arrest me or send assassins after me or whatever.”

Cirrus hesitated. I could almost see the gears turning in his head. “I think that can be arranged,” he began. “That is, of course, if you agree to amputation. We can’t have you stirring up trouble after all.”

Keeping up the act, I waited. No pegasus would blindly agree to amputation. After waiting long enough, I nodded. “Yeah, I can live with that, now call off your attacks.”

“Sure, I don’t see why…” Cirrus began.

“What! General! No!” Muddy said, nearly choking on the words. “We have to keep it up to make sure he complies!”

“I don’t think that’s a problem,” Cirrus laughed. “Dust here isn’t devious enough to pull the wool over both our eyes, is he?”

A radio crackled to life behind me. The soldier pressed a hoof against his ear. His face tightened into a look of concern as whatever message was being heard. After a few more moments, he lowered his hoof and looked at the General.

“Sir, there’s a problem at the facility,” he reported. “An environmental alert was sounded and everypony is being forced out by some sort of evacuation procedure.”

“The Tartarus,” Cirrus mumbled. “Go! Get it under control.”

The two soldiers guarding me ran out of the room, slamming the door behind them.

“What have you done, Dust?” Muddy growled through his grit teeth.

“What do you mean, Muddy?” I teased. “I’ve been with you the whole time. And you can ask the two soldiers that walked me here… I was never inside the facility.”

Muddy stormed around the desk. “Don’t play games with me!” he bellowed as he turned and kicked at me. He connected, sending me to the floor as the impact flashed my vision white and I was overwhelmed with pain. He continued raining blows down on me. “Tell! Me! What! You’ve! Done!”

“Stand down, Muddy!” the general ordered. Muddy flashed a look towards Cirrus. A quick flash of surprise washed across his face, but he regained his composure quickly. “Beating him won’t get what we want.”

“Why are we treating him like a VIP?” Muddy argued back. “We should just force him to help us.”

“We tried that, remember?” Cirrus replied. “The tower won’t respond unless he’s a willing participant. The drugs didn’t work. Being unconscious didn’t work. He has to be willing!”

“Then capture his friends! Torture them! Tartarus, torture his parents, also!” Muddy yelled.

A quick wave of relief washed over me as I got confirmation my parents were alright. But does this mean they were captured? Or just that Muddy knew they could get to them at any time. And what about Buster?

“Haven’t we tried torture already!” Cirrus bellowed. He was losing his patience.

Hoofsteps grew louder from the door to the office. The arguing stopped momentarily as they heard them also. The door flew open as Gertie and Silver trotted their way in and closed the door behind them.

“What is the meaning of this!” Cirrus barked. “What is going on here!”

My friends ignored him. “Mission accomplished, Dust,” Gertie said proudly. “The facility has been evacuated. Everypony is out.”

“You did this?” the General sneered.

“I told you Dust had something to do with this!” Muddy snapped.

“I thought we had a deal, Dust?” Cirrus asked.

“General. I can not make any kind of deal that would hurt the Wasteland. We’ve done enough damage, it’s about time we started helping. Truly helping,” I said to him. “I’m sure we can make some sort of deal to help…”

“Deal?!?” the General said with a laugh. “A deal? With these dirtponies? Not an option. Besides, we need all the food for Enclave. The Wasteland can just die for all I care!”

“And that is why we can never work together,” I calmly replied. “At the end of the war, we turned our backs on our brethren. They have suffered because of our cowardice. That ends today.”

Cirrus laughed. “You can’t be serious,” he scoffed. “The Enclave will never help the Wasteland. Not when there are so many pegasi that need help. And pegasi will always come first.”

“I was afraid you’d say that,” I said with a sigh. Reaching back into my saddlebags, I withdrew the detonator. “If you won’t at least share, then I’ll have to take it away.” I flicked the arming lever up, revealing the firing switch underneath. A red light glowed on the face of the device.

“Now, Dust. Let’s calm down here,” Cirrus said, his demeanor suddenly seeming less relaxed.

“I’m afraid not,” I announced. “I can not let you enslave the ponies down here and keep abusing them.”

“Ah, shit, for Luna’s sake!” Muddy growled, drawing his energy pistol. “Just kill one of them and he’ll cave. Here, watch!”

Muddy swung the pistol towards Gertie. Moving faster than I thought possible, I dove and knocked Gertie out of the way.

“Colonel! Stand down!” the General bellowed. “Or else I’ll have you busted back down to private!”

Every muscle in Muddy’s body tensed. You could almost see the rage boiling over inside him as he was redressed in front of me. He looked almost like the day I first found him standing over Silver in the stable.

Cirrus’ voice drew my attention as I stood back up. “I apologize for Muddy’s behavior. He’s just very passionate,” Cirrus explained. The sound of grinding teeth filled the room. “Let’s be reasonable. Destroying the facility would hurt both of us. These dirtponies need the food as much as we do. You won’t blow it up.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Cirrus,” I gloated. “These ponies may have been having a hard time, but they were surviving without it. The Enclave, on the other hand, is struggling.”

“But how long can that last?” Muddy interrupted. “You’ve seen what I’ve seen… things are not getting any better. Ponies die every day. Raider tribes increase in size. Slavers roam with immunity. In what reality does this end well for the Wasteland?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Seems to me, they’re doing just fine,” I said, looking at Gertie and Silver. “Besides, the way I figure it, the Enclave needs us more than we need the Enclave.”

“Dust, you can not possibly expect us to work with these ponies,” Cirrus scoffed. “They are beneath us, both literally and figuratively.”

“I was afraid you’d say that, General,” I answered, shaking my head. I flicked the switch on the detonator. After a short delay, we heard the low rumble I was expecting.

“What did… did you just do?” Cirrus asked, his mouth hanging open. “You didn’t, you couldn’t!”

“But I did,” I answered. “By my estimates, the entryway to the facility is now buried under tons of rock. Now it is of no use to anypony. You don’t need to enslave the Wastelanders anymore.”

“Is that… that what this was all about?” he stammered. “You’re fucking insane! Do you realize what you’ve done? You’ve changed nothing! The Wastelanders just lost food and the Enclave needs those towers more than ever. We need you!”

“Yes, I know exactly what I’ve done,” I responded, the pride in my voice escalating. “I took away the only incentive you had to be down here and attacking the Wasteland.”

“You wish,” he laughed. “We’ll just use the slaves to clear the entrance now. And we still have to deal with you. What can we do to convince you to help?”

Muddy growled again. “That’s enough! We can’t just sit here and dance around it,” he screamed as he drew his pistol, yet again. “How many chances does he get!”

“Colonel, how many times do I have to order you…” the General growled.

A high pitched whine filled the room, followed closely by a red flash. The General’s jaw dropped open and an odd red light began to glow from within. Within short order, the red light spread throughout his body and intensified. I had to shield my eyes from the brightness of it. Once the light died down, I reopened my eyes and the General was gone. In his place was a glowing, pink pile of dust.

“Wh.. what did you do?” I mumbled, my heart racing at the newest developments. “Why?”

Muffled voices began to fill the hall outside the door.

“Here, catch,” Muddy shouted as he tossed something in my direction. Without thinking, I caught a laser pistol. His laser pistol.

“Man down! The general has been killed!” Muddy shouted. “Everypony get in here and arrest these dirtponies!”

The muffled voices mixed with galloping hoofsteps. Soldiers were coming, and lots of them.

Gertie drew her rifle in a fast, rapid motion and aimed it right at Muddy. Muddy ducked, but Gertie still pulled the trigger anyway. The shot was deafening in this enclosed space. The large picture window behind where Muddy was standing shattered and fell away.

“Everypony, move!” Gertie ordered as she jumped and flew out the window. Silver and I jumped and made for the window.

Behind us, the door crashed open. Looking over my shoulder, I saw three Enclave troopers in full combat armor storm into the office and take aim at us.

“Evasive maneuvers!” I called out over the wind in my ears. We all banked at different angles as the first red laser blasts flew past us.

Oddly enough, after the first several blasts, no more followed. I glanced over my shoulder again and saw there was no pursuit.

“Gertie, there is no pursuit. I have a bad feeling about this,” I yelled over the roar of the wind in my ears. “Let’s get back to Flower.”

We banked and took a wide, looping course back to the skywagon and Flower. We avoided the manor house, but the feeling in my gut told me that was the least of my problems.

As we landed, Flower had just made it to the skywagon at a full gallop. “So, how did y’all do?”

“Well, the facility is no more,” I answered. “And Muddy killed the General.”

“What did you say?” Flower said, her mouth agape.

As I opened my mouth to answer, a message appeared in my vision. “Enclave Special Ops 1 radio signal found.”

I brought up the Pip-buck and tuned the radio to the new channel. My friends gathered around as the static cleared from the small speaker.

“Attention all Enclave forces operating in the Wasteland, including other Special Operations operatives in range of this message,” Muddy’s voice announced over the tinny speaker. “This is Colonel Clear Skies at forward operating base alpha-three-zero. General Cirrus has been killed by renegade Agent Updraft, also known as Dust Cloud. As the General’s second-in-command, I am assuming direct control of all forces.

“We can not and will not allow this terrorist attack to deter us,” his voice poured through the speaker. “General Cirrus served the Enclave with dignity and earned our respect.

“My first orders are as follows. Support and Logistics squadrons will break camp and transfer to the Neighvarro SPP. Next, all recon units will commence searching for Dust Cloud’s associates: a pink Dashite named Silver Lining, a griffin merc named Gertrude Stoneclaw, and a Wasteland earth pony named Wilted Flower. Dust Cloud is not to be captured, only his associates. You will bring them to the Special Operations base that will be assembled at Neighvarro. Additional details will be available from your unit commanders shortly. Assault forces will prepare for a search and destroy mission, searching out any Wasteland settlement that has either housed, provided assistance to, or is harboring the criminals. Such settlements will be completely destroyed. Initial target will be Coltington. Details will be provided to your commanders within the hour.

“Finally, I have a message for Dust Cloud. Should you choose to end this madness, turn yourself in to any Enclave forces you come across. They are all ordered to accept your surrender and escort you to Neighvarro. The decision, and the fate of the Wasteland, is yours. Message repeats. Attention all Enclave...”

I shut the radio off with a grunt. All of my companions faces had drained of blood and their wide-open eyes were focused on me.

“Dust, what are we gonna do?” Flower whispered. I was sure we were both thinking about the same thing; our friends and associates in Coltington.

“I d… don’t know, Flower,” I answered, my voice barely rising above a mumble. “We have to warn them,” I added, after a long pause.

I thought long and hard about my next chain of thought. It wasn’t going to go over well. “I know what you’re going to say to this. I think you guys should go hide,” I barely got out before I could see objections start to be raised. “Please.. Hear me out on this. You might be safer in the stable near Coltington. They will be looking for you, to capture you. They aren’t going to capture me.”

“Why do you think that, Dust?” Silver asked, her eyes still betraying her concern.

“Muddy wants to torture me into helping him,” I answered, certain of my logic here. “I have to go to Neighvarro voluntarily. But voluntarily doesn’t mean willingly. He is going to cause as much pain and horror as possible, all of it aimed at me, albeit indirectly. I don’t want to know what he is going to do if he gets his hooves on you.”
“Dust, ah don’t think anywhere is gonna be safe,” Flower added, placing a hoof on my shoulder. “Ah know ya wanna look out fer us, but ah don’t think anypony can do that now. If his desire is as strong as ya say it is, he won’t stop lookin’ fer us until ya volunteer or we are caught. Ah think it’s safer if we all look out fer each other. Besides, and ah can’t speak fer the others, while ah don’t wanna die, ah’d rather die together than alone.”

Gertie and Silver both nodded with tight grins on their faces. All three of my friends approached me and embraced me at the same time. I wrapped my hooves around them and squeezed tightly.

“This is what we’re fighting for, right here,” I stated firmly and resolutely. “And nothing in the Wasteland will take this away from us.”

We all broke the embrace and turned to look at the manor house one last time.

“To Coltington…”

Level up!

Explosives: +5

Perk Obtained: Friends forever! - DR increases by 10% when fighting with your friends by your side.