Chapter 32 - Runaway
“Nobody ever did, or ever will, escape the consequences of their choices.”

The room around me fell deathly silent. Even though I wasn’t looking at them, I could feel my friends’ gazes burning into me, looking for some guidance.

My brain began to formulate plans. Sneaking in was probably out of the question, since the tower would be heavily guarded and there was only one way in and out. Besides, it’s not like I had night vision gear, a stealth suit, or could sneak anyway. Might as well throw in an eyepatch, ya know, just to ratchet up the difficulty level.

A full out assault would be utterly useless. We’d be outmanned and outgunned. Not to mention that even though Flower could walk on the clouds as a pegasus, she would be stuck on the clouds and couldn’t do airborne maneuvers.

As soon as a plan entered my mind, a reason it would fail would be shortly behind it. Stealth, assault, bargaining, bribing… nothing seemed to be the right solution. My brain was racing.

Flashes of memory are all I have next. I bolted out of the storm shelter and ran as fast as I could. As soon as I cleared the smoldering ruins of Coltington, I kicked up and became airborne. I had no destination in mind. I didn’t even really pick a direction. I just flew.

What was I going to do? I had to take care of things… I had to have a plan. I needed to stop Muddy or else settlement after settlement would fall. Ponies would die. And this time it really would all be my fault.

It was beginning to get dark. I scanned my surroundings to get my bearings. The scenery was unfamiliar. Where was I? How did I get here?

I took a quick look at my Pipbuck and saw that I had covered a considerable distance to the northwest of town. This was a part of the Wasteland I had never travelled. I began to make slow lazy loops, scanning the horizon, hoping to find a landmark that was familiar to aid in navigation. The darkness limited what I could see, and what I could see did not help.

A red flash in my peripheral vision spurred my reflexes to act. Banking hard, I watched the laser beam approach. It missed me by mere inches.

Starting basic evasive maneuvers, I scanned the ground below looking for my attackers while zig-zagging across the sky. The darkening gray skyline obscured my vision enough that I couldn’t see anything on the ground.

Another red laser beam screamed past me as I continued my erratic banking. This shot came from behind and below me but I could not see the source. I needed to find out who was shooting at me and why.

Rearing back hard, I entered a tight backwards somersault. Finishing with a twist, I had pulled a full one eighty and was now flying back the way I came. Hopefully this would allow me to safely find my attackers.

Another red flash allowed me to focus in on the source. The darkness still kept details shielded, but I could at least tell where the shots were coming from. If I kept my altitude, avoiding the shots should be easy enough.

A searing pain flared up in my left wing. The pain was shortly followed by the crack of the rifle that must have hit me. My body began to twist as the wing hung limply and I entered a spiral towards the ground. It approached at a sickening pace, and I tried everything I could to slow my descent. However, every time I tried to extend and hold my wing out, the pain would overwhelm me and I had to relax the muscles.

If I hit the ground at this speed, I was not going to survive. If I could only slow myself down enough so as not to die…

I watched the ground as it approached and fought every natural instinct to try to fly. I had to conserve what little strength my wing had. The earth approached me at an escalating pace as the spinning added to the feeling of doom I had. I just had to wait… just a little longer…

When I could hold back no more, I flared my wings out and reared back. Pain shot up my wing, sending burning pains up into my back. My wing threatened to collapse again, but I held it out, fighting as long as possible.

The spinning ceased and I felt my descent slow as my flight began to level off. There wasn’t enough room for me to level off completely, but I just might survive the impact with the ground.

Watching the ground and bracing myself, I prepared to tuck and roll. At what I thought was the last possible moment, I tucked my wings. As I felt my hooves hit the ground, I allowed my legs to bend and I pitched to the side. I slammed into the ground, forcing the wind out of my lungs. But my body began to roll.

After rolling several times, I skidded to a stop. I fought to draw in the first lungful of air, being rewarded mainly with dust. A few hearty coughs and a deep inhale later, I began to gulp greedily at the cool air. My body was aflame with pain and my head was still spinning, but I was alive.

Three sets of hoofbeats approached at a breakneck gallop. I tried to turn and draw my weapon so I could face whoever is was that shot at me.

Three ponies appeared in the dusk. I could only make out a silhouette of them as they approached.

“Who are…” I began to ask, still trying to draw my weapon.

Some kind of rifle held aloft in a teal magical field approached my head. The impact was accompanied by a white flash and then darkness.

-----

The feeling of coming to after being knocked out was becoming uncomfortably familiar. The spinning room, the muffled voices… it was all there. I was in some sort of small cave. A small campfire had been lit in the middle. I felt a pressure against my hooves… and my wing fucking hurt! Looking at it, I saw that a bandage had been hastily applied. Trying to flex it was a bad idea, and I groaned in pain.

“Not fucking again,” I muttered.

“Hey! He’s waking up!” a pony shouted. A cream colored earth pony mare was unsteadily shaking a gun in my direction.

Her two companions, a white earth pony stallion and a blue unicorn stallion, turned their attention away from the cave opening and one cantered towards me. The earth pony had an energy rifle on a battle saddle and the other levitated a massive looking sniper rifle. Well, I guess these were the ponies that shot me down.

“I gotta stop doing this,” I groaned, chuckling a little. That only made things hurt even more.

“Sh.. shut up!” the white stallion shouted. “I don’t wanna hear another word out of you until after we give you to the turkeys!”

“Do we really have to, Scrub?” the mare asked. “I don’t feel right about this.”

“How many times do we have to argue about this!” the blue stallion shouted back. “Either we turn him in or they’ll destroy our homes! You heard about Coltington!”

“But, we didn’t help him,” she murmured back. “The message said only the towns that help or hide him…”

“And what do you think will happen when they run out of towns he’s been in! And what about Weedy in Dirtpatch… he’s been there!” the blue stallion yelled. The mare looked away in shame. “We have to do this to save our town! To save all the other towns!”

I couldn’t help but to start laughing.

This drew the ire of the white stallion. “What is so fucking funny?” he grunted.

“Muddy may not kill your town after you turn me in,” I answered, still laughing. “But it’s not what he wants… what he needs. He needs me to volunteer. So he may just do it after all, just to coerce me if I don’t cooperate.”

The stallion turned and bucked me in my midsection, hard. My breath was forced from my body and I couldn’t draw in air. My lungs burned and my head spun as my body fought for air.

“Shut up, you son of a bitch!” the stallion shouted. The mare cowered away from him.

The stallion by the door turned and waved a hoof. “Shush! There’s somepony coming!” he whispered as he picked up the sniper rifle and looked through the scope. He appeared to track something across the sky. After several long seconds, I saw his body relax and he lowered the gun. “Clear. Just some ground chicken flyin’ by.”

“Now, back to you,” the stallion who had been shouting at me continued. “What makes you think we won’t get rewarded?” I could see the muscles in his jaw clenching. He was also shuffling from hoof to hoof.

“He doesn’t just want me,” I answered between ragged breaths. “He needs me to go willingly. Turning me in does you absolutely no good.” Again, I couldn’t help but to laugh a little. “Your best bet is to let me go and run, because I will never help him.”

“Maybe he’s right, Scrub,” the mare whimpered in the corner. “Let’s just go. Maybe he’s right.”

“Shut up!” he hollered, causing the mare to withdraw to the corner again. “I will not let Wild and Crater die because of this… this… asshole!” He turned his attention back towards me. “So, you need to go willingly, huh? Well, maybe we can help with that…”

The stallion reached into his saddlebags and withdrew a small hoof-mounted blade. “Maybe this will convince you,” he added while fixing the blade to his forehoof.

“Scrub, no, you can’t…” the mare protested, still shaking in the corner.

“I can and I will,” he said with a sneer on her face.

He drew closer to me and ran the knife edge against my face. He wasn’t applying enough pressure to cut skin… yet.

Flashbacks of my time being tortured by Muddy ran through my mind. And to think that all this pony had was his small knife. I blurted out with laughter. “You think… you think I’m afraid of that?” I fit in between chortles. “That’s how Muddy said good morning to me a while back!”

A flash of surprise flashed across Scrub’s face, but then my lack of fear angered him. I could hear his teeth grinding together. He pressed the knife against my skin and flicked the blade. A sharp pain was followed by the feeling of a flowing warmth running down my cheek.

“You think that bothers me?” I retorted. “I have much larger issues than a crazy pony with a small blade! I have the entire Enclave on my ass, Wasteland ponies whose lives are on my shoulders, friends who will probably die no matter what I do… and you think a small knife and a little blood scares me?!?”

I laughed harder. It was a maniacal laughter interrupted only by my need to breathe. The three ponies in the room looked apprehensive and even Scrub backed away.

“Everyone wants to kill me,” I screamed between bouts of laughter. “Wastelanders want to kill me. The Enclave wants to kill me. And even those ponies I’m trying to help are turning against me. Well, you know what, do it. You might as well. You just might make my life better. And who knows, maybe Muddy will even stop his murderous rampage!”

The mare still sat shrunk in the corner while the lookout by the door stood there, his jaw agape. Scrub was tense, his teeth still grinding.

“C’mon you dirty Wastelander!” I screamed. “You talk a good game! Don’t you want to save your town! Your friends! Then do it! Stab me with that knife! Make me give in! If you don’t, you know who’s dead? Weedy! And your family! And friends!”

Scrub growled between his grit teeth. He started to stomp his way over to me. “This is what you want, then I’ll give it to you!” He kicked out with the knife-armed hoof and caught me in the midsection. My side burned as my vision turned white. He kicked again, causing my rear leg to erupt in pain.

“No!” the mare cried out from her spot in the corner.

My laughter began to grow in intensity. “Is that all you got!”

Scrub turned quickly and bucked at me, catching me in the face. My laughter stopped as I drew in a sharp breath. A coppery taste filled my mouth and I could feel one of my teeth wobble a little in my mouth. I spat the blood at Scrub’s hooves. Then, my laughing resumed.

“I can keep this up all day,” Scrub threatened. “What about you?”

Scrub backed up and aimed his energy rifle at me. I braced myself for the inevitable flash of pain, yet again. The scary part is that I was beginning to be OK with this. In fact, I was beginning to accept it. Maybe I would be better off dead. My friends would be out of harm’s way, at least directly. Muddy may just give up knowing he could never get what he wants.

For the first time in a long time, my waking mind was quite peaceful. No thoughts about plots or plans. No worries about who would get hurt or what to do next. In fact, all I could think about was Silver and Gertie. Their faces were the only images to float around my head. Silver with her soft pink skin and her wonderful green eyes. The smile that melted my insides and made me feel like a colt again. And then there was Gertie. Her strong chiseled features. How the teal and lavender mixed around her eyes, standing out brightly against the black feathers that made up her face.

A cracking sound shattered the images in my head and made my ears begin to ring. I felt no pain, which was odd, since getting shot always hurt. But that was an odd sound for an energy rifle to make. They were typically more like a whine than a crack.

I looked up at Scrub and his face was twisted in look of pure shock. A small hole had appeared right between his eyes. Blood began to flow from the hole and wound its way down his face. Almost comically, he stood there momentarily, and then fell to the ground like a rag doll. He didn’t move afterward.

“What fuck did you do!” the unicorn by the door yelled out. “You killed him!”

The mare stood there, the pistol still in her mouth, smoke snaking its way from the end of the barrel. I didn’t know who was more surprised, her or Scrub. The unicorn by the opening began to swing his sniper rifle at the mare. She reacted more quickly than I thought she could, swinging her head towards the unicorn. The combined booming of the sniper rifle and pistol filled the room. If I wasn’t deafened before, I was now. A puff of red mist appeared behind the head of the sniper unicorn as the mare’s round found its mark. His body also crumbled to the ground.

I turned to the mare. The gun fell from her mouth and clattered to the ground. She fell to her flank and sat there with her eyes wide open and her jaw agape. A large wound had opened in her chest and blood was flowing from it rapidly. She attempted to stem the blood flow, but the blood simply spilled over her hooves. She pitched forward, her body thudding against the ground.

All I could hear was the ringing in my ears. What a waste… three dead Wastelanders, and for what? They killed each other over me. Because of me. Regardless of how you look at it, it was my fault. Maybe things really would be better without me...

I had to get out of here. Scrub’s body was a few feet away and he still had the knife attached to his hoof. I shimmied my way over to his body. Each movement caused my wing to shake and cause a flare of pain to shoot up my side. However, this was nowhere near the pain I had felt during my beating. I could handle this.

It took me several minutes to slide my way over and cut the ropes off my forehooves. After that, it was a simple matter of drawing my knife and cutting away the other ropes. Yet another health potion later, and I felt my body mending itself, again. There had to be some limit to the amount of damage magic potions could heal, and I had to be rapidly approaching it.

I walked my way to the cave opening and took one last look at the bodies I was leaving behind. Shame filled my thoughts and I looked at the poor mare’s body. She had tried to help… but she had died anyway. It didn’t matter that she tried.. She failed and paid the price. All because of me…

I ran out the cave opening and just flew. It didn’t matter where I headed as long as it was away. My mind was a mess and I couldn’t face anypony right now.

A rocky outcropping high up on a mountain caught my attention and I flew in and landed. I wouldn’t been seen from here at night, so this would be a good place to hide.

I dropped down onto my stomach and just laid there looking out over the Wasteland. This was the world I was trying to save, trying to make a better place. At first, it seemed like it was my salvation from a go nowhere job in the Enclave. Then, after some time, it began to seem like a punishment.

But it grew on me. Ponies befriended me, made me care. But now… I wasn’t so sure. Ponies had tried to kill me. Ponies were killing each other. Ponies were trying to kill my friends. My old home was even trying to kill me. Maybe I was better off dead.

My Pipbuck crackled to life, startling me.

“Attention Wastelanders within broadcast distance of Dirtpatch. The town of Dirtpatch is no more,” Muddy’s voice droned on the tinny speaker, but I stopped listening. The pit that had been forming in my stomach just increased in size. He couldn’t have…

After consulting my Pipbuck’s map to orient myself, I looked off in the direction of Dirtpatch. I could see a faint orange point of light from a location on the horizon. That had to be Dirtpatch. Even if I could fly top speed and even if I wasn’t going to be severely outnumbered, I’d be too late anyway.

Another pony settlement up in flames. More ponies dying, only because they knew me. But Muddy didn’t care. Muddy wouldn’t stop until he either got what he wanted, or I was dead.

And let’s face it. I was only going to get Flower, Gertie, and Silver killed… or I’d have to give in to Muddy and subject the entire Wasteland to neverending cloud cover. What was the answer? Was there even an answer to be found?

I sat on that ledge watching the small orange point of light flicker and then eventually twinkle out of existence. Dirtpatch was now nothing but ruins, rubble, ash, and bodies.

And it was all my fault.

My. Fault.

As would be the next one…

And the one after that...

I dug around in my saddlebags, looking for something to write with and something to write on. After rooting around for a while, I found a crudely drawn map of a stable we scavenged a while ago and a pencil. Putting the pencil in my mouth, I wrote by Pipbuck light:

“To whomever finds me, please find Silver Lining, Wilted Flower or Gertrude Stoneclaw. Last I knew, they were at the ruins of a nearby settlement… former settlement, called Coltington.

Silver, Flower, Gertrude…

I am sorry that you had to find me this way and I am sorry that I couldn’t tell you this directly.

Muddy is never going to stop killing ponies in the Wasteland. Just to get to me. I can not let that continue.

However, I can not, in good conscience, give him what he wants. It will just make things bad for everypony.

Perhaps in doing this, the killing will stop and things in the Wasteland can stay the same.

Silver, please know that I love you with all my heart. You were my first… and I am sorry that we never got to explore that. I’m sorry I am leaving you behind.

Gertie… I never thought I could have the feelings I have for you.. a griffon. You took my broken body and risked your life and safety for a pony you didn’t really know. I am sorry that I am also leaving you behind.

Flower… I can not ask for your forgiveness enough. You were a friend… a true friend, and I put you through so much pain.”

There was so much more I wanted to say, but there was no room.

I continued: “Please know I do not do this lightly… I truly see no other way out.”

I stowed the note in my saddlebags and secured the flap. I could only hope that whatever scavenger found me first would read the note and do the right thing.

I stood up and walked to the edge of the ledge I had been sitting on. My front hooves overhung the edge of the ledge and looked down. In the faint light of the limited moonlight that penetrated the clouds, I could see I was a good height off the ground. The cliff face was sheer, so there was nothing between me and the Wasteland floor below.

Looking out over the horizon again, an inky blackness welcomed my gaze. I don’t know what I was hoping to see, but all I saw was darkness.

“I’m sorry,” I said to no one in particular.

And jumped.

The wind began to rush past my body and my wings started to spread out of instinct. It took every ounce of self control to keep them pinned to my barrel and allow gravity to take its course.

As dark as it was, I could not clearly see the ground approaching. Things were eerily calm. I figured my thoughts would be overwhelmed with self-preservation, but they weren’t.

I had always heard that when one faces death, your life flashes before your eyes. I used to laugh it off as ridiculous, but that was what I was experiencing.

Oddly enough, most of my young life didn’t take long. Graduating from school, basic training, commissioning ceremony… all routine stuff. What I didn’t expect was my Wasteland life taking so much longer.

My first day down… causing a fight because I bumped into that security pony walking around a blind corner…

Discovering my talent for computers by fixing our landlord’s computer…

Making my first friends, Brownie and Flower...

Every stable dive, every scavenging trip, every fight with Last Stand…

The fateful day I met Silver… all curled up and crying in that darkened lab… Being pushed off the ledge…

The fall… that eerily similar fall… Muddy’s laugh echoing in my ears…

Then there were the deaths… Foggy, One, Brownie, Deputy Mortar, the assassin, the poor ponies of Coltington and now Dirtpatch… all because of me…

This would end it all...

But then I saw a pair of sky blue eyes that made everything else fade out of view. A pink face materialized next to it. Of course it was Silver. I remembered the flirtations… the awkward talks… our first kiss… and it all brought a grin to my face.

Then the black, feathered face of Gertie appeared. Again, the teal and lavender eyes and the affection she hid behind them warmed me. Her eyes also hid the pain of her unrequited feelings. But she was content, happy even.

Then I saw my memories of the love between Flower and Brownie… how they looked at each other and always made sure they were in contact with each other. The joy Flower had when she talked about their relationship and where it could lead.

The innocence in One’s eyes when he discovered anything new. How he looked up to me like a big brother.

These were good things. These were things I wanted in my life. These were things worth living for.

The visions cleared from my mind and I regained awareness of where I was. The ground was close and approaching very, very quickly.

I flared my wings as wide as I could. My left wing flared in pain and weakened. I began a slow and sickening spiral. I tried to pull back and felt my speed diminish, slightly. But it wasn’t going to be enough. I was falling too quickly.

“Nooooooooo!” I screamed at the top of my lungs as I tried to pull up enough to avoid death. I wasn’t walking away from this wreck, but I was trying not to die. “Not like this!”

Every muscle in my body strained against the forces I was asking them to endure. The pain burned in my left wing and I could barely breathe against every muscle in my body tensing up at once.

“Hold on there, you idiot,” a familiar, gruff voice called out. I felt two sets of legs wrap around me and pull up sharply. Gertie was on one side of me and Silver was on the other. They had wrapped themselves around my barrel and all three of us were pulling up as hard as we could.

We all groaned as we strained against the force of nature. I could feel our speed slowing… this just might work.

I looked down and saw the ground was close… too close.

“Level off! We need to get some lateral movement or we’ll all die!” I shouted. I tweaked my wing attitude slightly and felt a change in direction. It was slight, but it just might be enough. “Tuck and roll!”

Silver and Gertie released me seconds before I hit the ground. The impact jarred my legs and I felt shocks work up into my midsection. I allowed my legs to bend and I tucked my wings and rolled onto my shoulder. I began to tumble and completed several full rotations. Irregularities in the ground jabbed at my body. Everything hurt, especially my injured wing.

After a few more rolls, I began to slide. Small rocks bit at the little bit of exposed skin I had. Dust flew up into my face and into my nose and mouth. Eventually, I felt my forward movement stop and my body settled onto the ground in a heap.

I coughed violently to clear all of the dust I had inhaled during our crash landing. I could hear Gertie and Silver coughing on either side of me. Slowly, the coughs decreased in intensity and was replaced by heavy breathing and groaning.

“Celestia be damned,” Gertie sputtered between bursts of coughing. “You don’t do anything the easy way, do you?”

“What were you thinking, Dust?” Silver added between coughing of her own.

“I… I don’t…” I started. Did I really want to lie to my friends at this point? “I was thinking everyone would be better off without me.”

There was an uncomfortable silence. “Dust,” Silver started. “Do you… do you really believe that?”

“I did, Silver, I did,” I answered, feeling the tears welling up in my eyes. “I have been at the center of so much death and destruction. Foggy, One, Deputy Mortar, the assassin and Brownie… all because of me. And then there’s Coltington and Dirtpatch…”

“W...what about Dirtpatch?” Silver sputtered.

“Muddy took out Dirtpatch a short while ago,” I said, fully sobbing now. “I heard it over the radio and saw the fire on the horizon.”

They both audibly gasped.

“I figured that if I ended it, Muddy might just leave everypony alone,” I muttered between gasps of breath. “Or at least de-escalate things. If he couldn’t get what he wanted from me, then there would be no reason to hurt or kill anypony… or at least not target acquaintances of mine.

“If I was dead, you would be safer than with me around… everypony would,” I barely squeaked out. And this is when I broke down into a full out cry. Weeks of pent up stress, rage, sorrow, guilt… you name it, I was probably experiencing it all at once.

“I’ve tried so hard, but in the end, does it really even matter?,” I muttered through sobs and sniffles. “Every time I take a step forward, I feel like I fall back five. I fight Muddy with all my might, but ponies still die. I try to make things right, ponies die. Even if I do nothing, ponies die!”

I barely felt it when Gertie and Silver both crawled over and cradled me in their legs. Waves of relief washed over my body as I finally let it all go. I had cried over One and Brownie, but even then I had held back. I had to be strong for the others. But this time there was no holding back.

I don’t know how long I just lay there crying into my forelegs, being held by Silver and Gertie. Truth is, it didn’t really matter. Eventually, the tears stopped… and then the crying. Soon enough, even my breathing had returned to normal.

“How…” I started, interrupted by a sniffle. “How did you find me?”

Silver grinned a little. “When you ran off, we tried to follow you, but you are really quick. Anyway, I flew over a cave and saw smoke and a pony with a rifle on lookout and figured something was up. I found Gertie and got back here as quickly as I could… just wish it could have been sooner…”

An awkward silence fell on our small group.

“So, Dust…” Silver finally broke the silence. “You told us why you did it… but what made you change your mind? I mean, Gertie and I saw you falling and there was no way we could have made it fast enough, unless you tried to slow yourself…”

“Even through all the bad, I remembered the good I have seen in the Wasteland,” I responded, with a sniffle. “One’s curiosity and innocence, Flower’s and Brownie’s love for eachother… and you two. My feelings for you and the feelings I know you have for me.” I felt a grin stretching the muscles at the ends of my mouth. “You two are the most important ponies in my life. You make life worth living.”

Gertie and Silver cuddled up closer and squeezed me with their legs. For a brief moment, everything else faded away from my mind. All I cared about was the pony and griffon who were cuddled up with me.

I was still sobbing. My body was sore all over, but this was a different kind of soreness. It didn’t feel like any of the broken bones, stab wounds, or gunshots I had suffered. It was more of an all-over ache. But a gentle warmth worked its way through my body.

I don’t know how long we lay there, but light began to diffuse through the clouds and brighten the Wasteland a little.

The radio on my Pip-buck crackled to life. A very business like mare droned on over the speaker. “Plantation Forward Base to all Wasteland personnel. Prepare for advance on Fetlock Flats. Briefing at 1000 hours. All flight wings will depart at 1400 hours. Check in with flight commanders for assignments.”

I looked at the Pipbuck screen and the clock in the upper corner showed it was about 0800.

I sighed deeply. “Six hours…” I muttered. “When will I ever get a fucking break.”

“Don’t worry, Dust,” Silver said, wrapping me deeper in an embrace. “We’ll go and do what we can.”

“Yeah, and we’ll be there right by your side,” Gertie added.

“No,” I blurted out.

“Now, Dust,” Gertie started to scold me. “You can’t…”

I had to interrupt her. “Gertie… I’m not thinking of trying to go alone,” I said, shaking my head. “That would be suicide. In fact… going at all without a small army would be suicide. We barely made it out of Coltington. And Dirtpatch fell fast. We can’t win this by fighting.”

“But what about all those ponies?” Silver said, her voice wavering.

“We’ll send somepony to warn them. Tell them to get the fuck out of there,” I answered. “And then we’ll get the survivors of Coltington somewhere safe.” My face tightened into a severe grin and my voice lowered. “If there is such a place anymore. And then we’ll head up to Neighvarro.”

I caught them both off guard. “What?” they both blurted out in unison.

“I thought you said you weren’t committing suicide!” Silver shouted.

“Silver, calm down…” I said, trying to reassure her. “I am not trying to get killed.”

She flashed me a look as if to say, “Oh, really?”

“I swear!” I retorted. “Look, there is only two ways this will end. Either Muddy gets full access to the maneframe, completely clouds off the Wasteland, slowly killing off every living thing down here.” I took a pause. “Or, I go in and use the Pipbuck destruction access, to permanently lock down the SPP tower. It won’t improve anything down here, but at least things won’t get worse. It’s the best of both choices.”

“But what’s stopping Muddy from just killing you when you lock down the tower?” Gertie asked.

“That is a very valid concern,” I admitted. “But I look at it this way. The rest of the soldiers are just following orders. I can’t believe that when their primary objective is impossible that they will keep following Muddy. And the upper brass won’t stand for it either. I’m sure they are quietly approving of these plans just because it gets them what they want, too. But if that’s out of reach, they can’t justify risking lives for it anymore.”

“And what’s to keep Muddy from just killing you?” Silver asked.

“That’s the only sticking point,” I said, nodding. “It is a risk, but it’s one worth taking. It’s one I have to take”. I took another pause and looked each one of them in the eye. “And if I’m going to survive, I’m going to need help. I need you to have my back.”

I turned to my griffon merc. “Gertie, are there any Talon detachments anywhere nearby?” I asked.

“That’s a tough question, Dust,” she murmured as she scratched her head with one of her talons. “Camps move periodically when the work moves. Last I knew, Bloodfeathers encampment was northeast of Coltington.”

I found the favor coin Stoneclaw gave me and flipped it to Gertie. She fumbled it a few times but did catch it. “Go there, see what help they’ll give us in way of a favor,” I ordered. “Meet me back at the ruins of Coltington.” Gertie nodded and took off.

“Silver, I heard somepony became quite the courier while I was missing,” I said with a grin.

“Well, I mean, maybe,” she stuttered while her face reddened.

“Get to Fetlock Flats as fast as possible,” I said. “Warn them of what’s heading their way, get them to abandon the town. Maybe they can hide in the Stable nearby.”

“And what are you doing?” Silver asked.

“I’m going to go to Coltington,” I answered. “I’m going to make sure the survivors are safe. How long do you think it will take to get there and back?”

“Um, couple of hours, at least,” she answered after some thought.

“Alright… better get going, then,” I reared back, preparing to kick off and head back to Coltington.

Before I could clear the ground, Silver wrapped her hooves around me and dragged me back to the ground.

“Hey! What the…” I began.

Silver planted her lips right against mine and kissed me more strongly than she ever had before. I was shocked for several moments, and then I finally returned the gesture. We kissed for several moments more.

“Dust, I love you,” she said, breathlessly. “I can’t imagine living without you anymore.”

“I… I love you too, Silver,” I finally muttered back.

Silver smiled at me and then turned and took off. I watched as she slowly shrank to a small point and then vanished from view.

A gravelly voice startled me. “Love is a funny thing,” the hooded figure’s voice. “Makes you do funny things. Things you think are brave, or cool, or awesome. Sometimes they are, sometimes they aren’t.”

“Are you trying to tell me…” I tried to ask.

“I’m not really trying to tell you anything,” she responded. “Just remembering better times.”

“Not to sound too ungrateful, but why are you here this time?” I prodded. “Usually when you show up, I either have made a big mistake or something bad is about to happen.”

“That’s hardly fair,” she responded, sounding hurt. “Can’t a pony just visit a friend?”

“Look, I don’t really have time for this,” I said bluntly. “I have a plan to come up with, and I need to find a way to keep everypony alive.”

“Oh, I remember those days,” she said with some melancholy. “Plans, plans and more plans. Enemy compositions, allied units, projected casualties, acceptable losses, it’s all just too much to deal with. Take it from me, kid, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. How I pined for the days when I could just sit back with a Daring Do novel.”

“But what else can I do?” I shouted back.

“That’s always the problem, isn’t it?” she answered. “You make one choice, ponies die. You make another choice, ponies die and you piss off ponies you know. Doing nothing isn’t even an option.”

“Well, I’ve gotta do something,” I shot back. “I can’t let Muddy continue wiping out towns left and right.”

“Wasn’t trying to stop you,” she answered, shaking her head. “So, what are you going to do? Try to liberate the maneframe or destroy the Pipbuck?”

“I… I don’t know yet,” I admitted. “I want to clear the cloud cover to help the Wasteland, but if I open that option, nothing will stop Muddy from using it to completely reform the cloud cover. But if I destroy the key, well, then things never get better down here…”

“Well, whatever you decide to do, good luck,” she said with a turn and began to walk away.

“Wait?!? That’s it?” I shouted. “No sage advice… no veiled references… no vague predictions? I’ve done whatever I could do to save the Wasteland… as you said I needed to! I’ve lost friends! Whole settlements are dead! All because you told me to!”

“Whoa… hold on there,” she said, breaking her stride. She turned to face me. “I never told you what you needed to do. I told you what could happen, but never said you HAD to do anything.”

“That’s just semantics, isn’t it!” I yelled. “Like I’m not going to listen to the mysterious hooded figure that keeps appearing to me! Who in Tartarus are you, anyway?”

“All in good time, Dust,” she answered, turning away and walking away from me again. “Good luck, with whatever you decide to do. I’m sure you’ll use your best judgement!” With that, she began to fade from view.

“See! That’s what I’m talking about!” I shouted, now to no one in particular. I kicked at the dirt in frustration.

The flight back to Coltington was, fortunately, uneventful. I kept trying to refine my plan, predict every possibility, avoid every casualty. However, a quote from basic training kept echoing in my head: “Even the best laid battle plans don’t survive first contact with the enemy.” No matter how well I planned, most of the work would be done on the fly.

I got back to Coltington in short order. The survivors of the Enclave attack were combing through the ruins, trying to find anything that survived the fires. I helped several ponies comb through the remains of their houses for anything that was either useful or sentimental. Speaking with several of the older ponies, they had already decided to head down to Dry Forks since most had friends or family there.

After about an hour, I heard something land behind me. “Hey, Gertie,” I greeted her, still sifting through the ashes with an older mare.

“Hey, Dust,” she answered, sounding dejected. “Bad news.”

That got my attention. I turned and saw a matching look on her face. “Even calling in my Dad’s favor, Bloodfeathers can only spare three mercs. They’ll be here in an hour or so. Most of his company is out on contracts. Sorry.”

“Gertie, no need to be sorry,” I comforted her, lifting her beak with my hoof. “I wasn’t expecting much anyway. So, no long faces, OK?”

A gleam flashed in her eyes and she leaned forward, plastering her beak over my mouth. She began to kiss me with no abandon. As before, the shock of it all paralyzed me for several moments, after which I reciprocated.

Gertie pulled away. “Sorry about that, Dust,” she muttered. “I just couldn’t hold back any more. I know you love Silver, but I do love you.”

“Gertie,” I answered, a small grin on my face. “I do love you, too. But I can’t ignore my feelings for Silver. If it makes you feel any better, I have no idea what to do about the three of us.”

“Doesn’t really help,” she said with a frown, “but thanks for being truthful with me.” Gertie shuffled on her paws. “Dust, I’m going to for a flight… I’ll be back in a little.”

“Gertie… wait!” I called out, but she kicked up and took off before I could stop her. Damn it.

I spent the next hour or so helping the last survivors pack up and leave for their new homes. For as much as they had been through, they were unexpectedly hopeful. All they wanted was peace and safety, and they no longer could find it here.

Silver got back before Gertie did, landing right next to me with a lot of grace. “Hey, Dust,” she said with a grin. “Fetlock Flats is sheltering in the Stable until after the Enclave forces attack. The mayor and sheriff weren’t happy, but the townsponies had heard about Coltington and Dirtpatch and practically threatened to lynch them if they didn’t evacuate.” She paused to chuckled a little. “Where’s Gertie?” she said, looking around the ruins.

“She’s just out for a flight,” I answered. She didn’t need to know any more. Several shadows crossed our shadows. I looked up and saw four griffons begin a descent spiral. “Ah, look like she’s back now.”

The three mercs landed, barely disturbing the ground. They weren’t as impressive as Stoneclaw or some of the others, but they were armed to the teeth. They could have passed as brothers. Jet black feathers and fur, and deep golden eyes. The only identifying mark was that the largest of the three had an eyepatch.

“Bloodfeathers’ Talons, reporting for duty,” Gertie added as she touched down.

Finally, it felt like all the pieces were coming together.

“Alright, everypony. Let’s find Flower and I’ll fill you in on my plan,” I said with a smirk. “And it’s a doozy.”

Level Up!

Speech +5

Perk Obtained!
Fancy Flying : It’s got to be about 20% cooler - You can now perform tighter aerial maneuvers. AGI +1.