Chapter 11: I’ll Fall

Over the course of the next three hours as the group drove across the open spaces, little was said between them. Bored and numbed by the noises of the road and chariot they watched as the terrain whipped past them. Misfortune would have it though, as after some sputtering noise erupted from the machine it began to slow, despite Eagle’s persistence on the pedals in the floor board.

“Aw fuck!” He said as the chariot slid to a complete stop. “Fucking hell, the battery’s dead.”

“Dead?” Tato said looking to him over the seat with confused eyes, startled by the sudden stop. “What do you mean dead?”

“Drained, empty, dry; meaning we’re dead in the water.” He rubbed his beak’s ridge, sighed and shook his head. “I was hoping there was enough juice in this thing to at least get us up north, but that doesn’t seem the case anymore. Damn raiders, can’t keep batteries charged for shit.”

As he kept working the key to try and start it, the engine merely gave dull and empty cranking noises, like steel on steel in quick succession. Sparks looked outside at the open wasteland around them between the slates like blinds. Open desert, seemingly endless save for some distant mountains to the west, barely blips on the horizon. She shook her head, thinking as she scratched her chin. “Hey Eagle? Where’s the battery compartment at on this thing?”

“I haven’t a clue,” he said, shrugging “no telling what those guys did to this thing. If they didn’t move it though...” He reached down near the floorboard, searching for something until they all heard a big clunk in the chassis. “It should be behind the hood.”

They disembarked from the chariot, each and every one stretching out their achy joints in thanks for a pit stop, albeit worried for the reason. Sparks circled around the machine until she saw a compartment plate of sorts angled open above the rear bumper. It spanned the length of the machine’s rear and reached up around four hooves in height, near the rear glass.

She found the latch beneath it and propped it open on the intact rod inside it and looked around inside the machine’s guts, as it was again the only way she could describe the greasy and filthy insides, but eventually she found what she was looking for.

It was an incredibly dirty version of a battery she had seen plenty of before, a large rectangular box with steel fins on the sides that held two red cylinders on top of it. On the cylinders was a symbol she also had intimate knowledge of; a star shaped sparkle that was painted bright yellow. Below that symbol used to be technical information on a sticker, yet time had apparently worn it off completely.

Eagle tilted his head as he watched her, and spoke flatly. “What are you thinking Sparks?”

“Well...” she said as she took out a screwdriver and removed the battery’s clamps “these chariots run off of sparkle cells right? Batteries can be recharged and usually are by some kind of alternator or dynamo, which this chariot doesn’t seem to have. I had to recharge these all the time back in Ninety-Six, siphoning charges from cell to cell, but the, ah... tricky part is the cells themselves.”

“Meaning?” Eagle said keeping his tone.

“Meaning that if this cell is in a decent condition I can recharge it here; unless we’ve got another one of these micro sparkle plant cells I’ll have to use some of my flash pistol’s to do it, but It’s... possible I can give this sucker enough of a charge to get us further.”

“How many cells you got? Those magical energy weapons are useful, far more than what we scrounged off those raiders.”

Sparks sighed and shrunk a little, shook her head and managed to pull the magic wreathed battery out and set it down on the ground. “I’ve got around seven or eight of the small cells, and this large one might take more that that for one hundred percent...”

“We don’t need a hundred, just enough for five or six hours of driving.”

“Then... maybe fifteen or twenty? Being honest though I won’t know if this will work until I hook the cells to it and see it takes a charge.”

Eagle looked around The Wastelands around them, as if searching for something, grumbled under his breath he just shook his head. “Fine, do it.”

Sparks took out four of her little yellow sparkle cell packs and laid them next to the much larger cell in comparison, along with a set of cables with clamps she had in her saddlebags. She hooked the clamps to the posts on the larger battery, then on one of the smaller cell’s nodes with a nervous frown. She had heard stories of these larger cells being damaged before, and usually such tales ended with the tech pony being bathed in a burst of magical energy. Usually that equated to a bomb going off with untold side effects of random wild magic going off. Sparkle cells were, in a word, finicky with age, and she flinched when she saw some purple sparks shoot off of the posts.

She held her breath. Nothing. No explosion, nothing that would be detrimental. She sighed deeply, thanking the Goddesses for the large cell being in a decent enough condition. Eagle shot her a look at her movements, and spoke accusingly. “Sparks... something wrong?”

“Thankfully, no... No telling how these century old batteries can react sometimes.”

“Warn us next time then?” Eagle said, sighing. “Taking risks like that, right next to us and the only means of transport we have, isn’t exactly smart.”

She looked up, sudden embarrassed realization flashed across her face as she smiled slightly. “Oh, sorry...”

“Seriously kid,” Green spoke up, agitated “not cool.”

“I said I was sorry guys!” Sparks said defensively as she shrank back.

“It’s alright Sparks,” Tato said, still stretching her legs out “Don’t worry too hard about it, just, uh... well, I guess remember next time to warn us.” She smiled deeply, and chuckled. “Although, it was funny to watch your face twist up like that.”

Sparks sat silently as she shook her head. Turning back to the cell she felt the heat of her blushes on her cheeks, and tried her best to focus on the battery itself. Usually, there was some light indicator on the side that displayed the charge level, but it was dim; probably broken she figured. She mentally shrugged and slumped against the chariot. “This might take a while guys.” She said sighing deeply.

Eagle gave a nod and looked to the other two mares and spoke. “Alright; might as well get comfortable mares.”

*** *** ***

After about thirty minutes’, Sparks seemed to start getting agitated by the large sparkle cell before her. She never had to deal with such a bad example of one before, and the only way she knew the cell was taking a charge was her pistol’s display on the side for charges. It was taking a charge, well enough she supposed, but without so much as an altimeter she didn’t know where the cell was at as far as charge levels.

Eagle looked back to her as he kept watch on the horizon beyond and gave a short cough. “She done yet?”

“Maybe...?” Sparks said as she stared at the sparkle cells. “It should be taking a charge but the only reason is these cells are dead. Only one way to find out if it’s working I guess.”

“Well try and hurry up; I don’t like camping out here in the middle of nowhere.” Eagle said, and as he turned around they all heard the whiz of a bullet rip past them. Eagle ducked, turned about and shouted out as a distant report of a rifle sounded southeast of them. “Sniper!! Take cover!!”

The three mares scrambled to their hooves and dove next to Eagle as he crouched low behind the cover of the chariot. Sparks and Tato held expressions of fear as sudden as the incursion, but Green and Eagle both had hard and calculating stares as their heads whipped about trying to place the direction of the attack.

“Great, just fuckin’ great!” Green shouted. “Not even a few days out of The Hoof and I’m in another shootout!”

“Keep your head level Green!” Eagle shouted at her with the authority of a commander. “That shot just zipped past my ears from that way!” He pointed a claw southeast, and grimaced. “Damn near took my head off!”

“Why... why would someone take potshots at us?” Tato said, panicking. “Just some nobodies in the middle of the desert!”

“Might be the chariot they’re after,” Eagle said, thinking “or my fucking head if I know my luck!”

“What do you mean your head Eagle?” Sparks said, her voice cracking with disbelief. “Why would somepony be after you!?”

“Number of reasons, but they aren’t ponies.” He said quickly and curtly. “The big one I’ve tried to avoid, but I think the damn Dee-Jay tipped them off.”

Another bullet pinged off the chariot’s other side, and a ricochet was heard as the bullet spun off into the air and the report was heard again. Eagle cursed under his breath as the rifle report was closer now, and he began fiddling with his battle saddle. “Sparks! Green! Tato! I’m gonna need you here. Griffons may be inbound and they’re definitely not friendly! You two, grab some weapons from the chariot! Sparks, pull your pistol and be ready to use that spell in your PipBuck!”

Sparks looked at him with a small panic of her own growing, but she pulled her pistol as ordered. Green greedily pulled a mouth-held double barreled shotgun from the chariot and Tato armed herself with some sort of ramshackle rifle; the awkwardness of the weapon plainly etched on her face as she tried to ready it without a saddle mount.

Sparks shook her head in confusion as she tried to process the situation. “Why do you think griffons are after us? You’re the only one I’ve seen out-”

“Because I’ve kept it so!” Eagle interrupted her as he finished detaching his rifle from his harness.

He planted the back end of it against his chest, next to his right shoulder, and took a stance that looked bizarre to the mares. His talons held the rifle fast against him, and he used iron sights on the rifle as he peaked out of cover by his hind legs and sent several rounds downrange. In the few seconds he broke cover, he saw at least three griffons in the air, and he dived back down groaning in agitation as he spoke.

“Talon Company’s had a bounty on my ass for a long time, and that fucking radio just told them I was here!” He resisted the urge to think of how they managed to track him out in the open Wastelands, and he looked at the mares as he tried to form some plan to keep them from dying. He gave a short sigh as he spoke succinctly. “Alright. Tato, you know how to use that?”

“Kinda...!?” She shouted as her panic grew. “I never learned hoof shootin’ before, nevermind against trained mercs!”

“I’m going to need you calm Tato, this is no time for panic! Breath, just breath until I say to fire alright!?”

“Okay... okay, I’ll- I’ll try!”

“Green!?” He turned to her, her own expression concentrated. “Don’t waste ammo unless they get close, and aim for their wings or heads! Everything else is armored and that twenty gauge won’t cut it!” All she did was nod as she racked back the hammers on the weapon. Finally, Eagle turned to Sparks as she was wide eyed; her expression beginning to crack. “Sparks! I’ll need you to do the same as Green, but pop out of cover on my marks and do not, I repeat do not get out from behind this chariot!”

Both Tato and Sparks flinched, recoiling down behind the chariot as another round pinged off the chariot. Sparks spoke up and managed to speak, albeit cracking. “Alright Eagle, I’ll... I’ll try!”

Eagle rose out of cover again and sent three more rounds at the aerial foes, and would have cleaned one’s clock had the griffon not strafed away from the line of fire. Instead a round missed, one splattered against his armor, and the third seemed to take feathers off his head. The possible wounds seemed apparent as his flight pattern swayed severely before he dived back down. “They’re maybe two hundred yards out and closing! Sparks, take a shot when I jump out of cover!”

She nodded, and when Eagle stood up and shot several more times she angled out of cover and activated S.A.T.S. once again.

The time stopping power of the spell brought clarity to all that was beyond them. She even saw the blurry trails of Eagle’s bullets impact the winged menaces. They were odd looking, she thought at first. Griffons, like Eagle was, but their sandy drab, brown speckled armor and clothes would have made them blend in had it not been for the grey cloud smothered sky above. She took a moment switching between different targets, trying to find one that had the best chances, but unfortunately all of them were lower than fifties.

She did however take time to think as to the why of the situation. Why were griffons attacking them, why Eagle had a bounty as he said, why the world seemed hell-bent on turning her into a killer; all of it was little more than faded musings in the heat of battle though as she cued up two shots as ordered, and sent the magical red beams flying.

One of the griffons seemed to have far better reaction time than the raiders did she noticed, as when she cued the attacks the change number dropped by at least ten points. The reason for it was evident by the dive he took, yet the beam luckily enough still hit the target. His wing slowly billowed out a plum of blackened smoke, and she saw faintly at that distance numerous feathers flying off from the limb.

The damage seemed to impair his flying pretty badly as well, as he seemed to start dropping out of the sky with little more than a controlled descent. The second shot however missed widely in his plummet. She looked around, the stench of ozone in her nostrils and bile on her taste buds again to the occasion. She ducked back down as the spell began to wear off, and the last thing she saw in the spell’s crawling time was a speeding bullet that ripped past her scalp before she hit the ground.

Time reasserted itself, and she panted heavily as Eagle shifted around the chariot’s cover. “Good hit Sparks!” He shouted as Sparks began shake. “I’ll need you to move and target the other’s wings! If we can ground them-” He looked over at her and noticed the one thing he couldn’t deal with presently. She was locking up, panicking in earnest as her eyes were locked ahead of her; the sounds of pinging bullets ricocheted off into the air. “Sparks!! Stay with me!”

She didn’t react; she couldn’t. Her mind, given time to process it all, realized she almost died in that exchange. A bullet, small yet ominous, almost ripped her skull apart, and would have had she not ducked down in time. S.A.T.S. or not, she came an inch close to death; and it scared her beyond compare to anything. “I-I-I...” She said, stuttering with wide shot eyes. “I almost... d-d-died...!”

She reflexively tightened herself up against the chariot’s side, and began to cough as her stomach rebelled with the concept. Eagle wanted to smack the thought out of her, but he knew they hadn’t the time to deal with her reactions. He looked over to Tato and shouted orders. “Tato, take her pistol! It works much like a regular gun, trigger and all, and I need that gun in this fight; Sparks isn’t with us!!”

“O-Okay!” Tato shouted shakily as she ditched the awkward rifle for the flash pistol that lay next to Sparks. She wanted to help her out of whatever she was feeling, but the drive to fight overrode those instincts. Thankfully, it had a mouth-grip she could use and she felt far more comfortable with it, except for maybe it being a magic weapon. She hoisted it and peeked out of cover to give a test fire, and the bright flash of red that struck out half startled her.

Eagle jumped from cover himself, and the burst he sent downrange found much more purchase at the griffons closed in much too fast for comfort. “Damn it, they’re getting close! Green, at the ready!” he shouted, and Green took a low stance, shotgun angled up to catch these birds of prey.

In Sparks’ mind however, all the chaotic din of battle once again melded into a frenzy of hellish imaginings made reality. Her eyes, locked on some distant unseen detail, quivered as her chest struggled for air; her throat tight and mouth dry. She heard the gunshots nearing in, the fire from Eagle and Tato blazing across her senses despite a distant ringing in her ears, and suddenly one massive blast from Green as a griffon flew over the chariot -their shadow disappearing as quickly as it emerged- and the lifeless, headless body plummeted to the ground with a tumble.

She managed to pull her eyes over as she watched the griffon crash into the ground, and bits of meaty chunks splattered across the ground with little droplets of blood scattering. She tore her eyes away from that in a panic and saw Tato. Her eyes were wide with terror, and just as quickly she watched with terror as the mare took shots in her flanks. Tato fell as her expression twisted from fear into agony, and she slumped on the ground, writhing in pain as some shadow zipped over her.

She managed to tear her eyes away from that, and straight ahead she saw Red Eagle in front of her with a wide stance as if protecting her. She still shook, and her ears slowly, but surely, regained some hearing. What she heard however, wasn’t Eagle or Green, but another voice unrecognized. “Red Eagle... or, should I call you ‘Bartus’ now?”

The voice chuckled grimly, and Eagle retorted with a low growl behind his words. “I haven’t much care of what you call me, Major.”

His boots shifted beneath him, and Sparks managed to angle her head enough to see around him. She saw two griffons before them, both wearing that worn chocolate chip camouflaged barding, but now up close she saw black talon decals on their breastplates, one on each like a mark of allegiance. The one in front, a grizzled and steely eyed, white feathered griffon held a hard expression, and the one on the side seemed injured with a grazing wound to the head. The detail that Sparks seized on though was Green in the talons of the latter griffon as she rebelled against capture, her shotgun several yards away as she bled slowly from a leg wound.

The first one had a rifle in his talons as he held himself up on his hind legs, trained on Eagle who had his revolver in his talon. The white feathered one looked at Sparks with curious eyes, but kept the rifle still. “Never knew you were partial to ponies Eagle; last time I saw you, you hated them with a passion yet... here you are traveling with three of ‘em.”

“Let me go you bastards!!” Green shouted, but the griffon body slammed her into the dirt; the air blown out of her.

Eagle merely snarled as he spoke. “Haven’t got much time for hate; not a stupid kid anymore.” He grumbled, his revolver trained on the Major’s head.

The opposing griffon shook his head and smirked. “You really haven’t changed. Brash, arrogant, deadly; problems with rules and orders. You should have known not to come back here again.”

“I did; money was too good though.”

“Ah, you’re working; as usual.” He took a deep draught of air and sighed. “So it’s worse than I thought. Not only are you back, in the flesh, but you’re taking jobs. I had hoped hearing your old pop’s name down in Dodge was just coincidence.” He grinned a touch, but shook his head again. “You see Eagle, as much as I liked you, gave concessions for your bullshit, you knew the agreement I hashed out.”

“That agreement was to not take jobs in the south. This is a northern one, and besides you’re out of your jurisdiction.”

“Details, Eagle... always watch the details. Northern job or not you’re in the south again. I also didn’t... feel the need to correct you but I’ve got a leaf now. I’ve got jurisdiction from the Hoofington border up to Baltimare’s; I’m not chained to Manehattan anymore, the pricks.” He grimaced, and sighed as he shouldered his weapon. “And I’ve got orders to haul you in; preferably alive. You know I don’t want to fuck with you -I’ve seen your work- but you know how it is.”

“Yeah,” Eagle said, crouching lower “you never did turn down orders or contracts... Lieutenant Colonel, I guess. Talon’s code and all; that pretty code of yours is going to burn you.”

“You did learn that the hard way, didn’t you?” The Colonel said, sighing. “Come on Eagle, make this easy for me. You aren’t going to hang for this you know?”

“You had a sniper trained on me for a kill shot and you talk of making it easy? Hanging or not I’ve got shit to do. You’re fucking with my timetable and if you don’t leave me the fuck alone I’ll end you.”

The Colonel sighed deeply, and merely smirked. “That’s why I always liked you, Eagle; you never took no for an answer.”

It was then that the Colonel ducked down and strafed as Eagle pulled the trigger; four shots in rapid succession. He returned fire, the bullets splattering against the chariot and Eagle’s armor and Sparks threw herself down against the ground trying to avoid the gunshots. She panicked again as Eagle pounced up with a mighty wing beat and sent two more shots at his target, and one found purchase it seemed as the griffon slowed for but a second with a subtle and small spout of blood flying from a wing.

Sparks looked over at Green who, in nearly untraceable motions, threw a hind leg out with a buck to the griffon’s groin. The griffon buckled, his grasp weakened enough for her to break free and deliver a skull crunching roundhouse buck to his forehead. The griffon stumbled for a few moments, but it was enough for her to leap onto his back and try to strange him.

Sparks looked back over to Tato as she scrambled in the dirt to stand, the flash pistol a few paces away. In a sudden fit of defensive instinct however she used her magic to rip the pistol to her, much to Tato’s surprise, and Sparks powered on the S.A.T.S. spell again as she looked up to see the duel of griffons above.

As time began to slow to the ever familiar crawl she detested, the battle they waged seemed... majestic, in a sense. They dived and twisted, attack after attack they exchanged with gunshots that went wide, the few finding purchase on the broad plates of their armors. When their weapons went dry they discarded them and pulled blades, and waged a desperate battle of razors. She targeted the Colonel, a griffon whose identity she was confused about but knew she hadn’t the time to reflect on it, cued up shots on his wings.

The chances were dire, for Eagle perhaps if he couldn’t defeat this griffon. She remembered again his wounds, not given much chance to heal, and the fifty percent chances that shifted constantly between ten points would have to suffice. She sent them flying again without knowing why or how she managed to, still feeling sick to her stomach, but the bright red beams of magic flew.

Out of the four shots she cued, two hit, and out of the two one was gruesome as bile threatened her again. The first beam connected on the wing squarely, scorching the flesh and feathers quite effectively, and when the second beam hit she saw in painful clarity the feathers and flesh, tendons, muscles and bones all merely turn to ash. Luckily, in her mind, the spell failed to render the entire griffon into ashes, but the wing the beam hit did.

The Colonel, with only a single wing, now plummeted to the ground as the magic of S.A.T.S. ended. In that space of accelerating time his face contorted into agony, and when he hit the ground he bounced off with the sound of crunching bones. He finally fell still on the ground, a single wing draping him as he tried to stand. The shock was too much however for him to bear, and the pain was excruciating by his animalistic growls and half shouts.

Eagle landed a few paces away next to his rifle and reloaded his revolver, the casings dumping out onto the soil with noiseless clatters. He hoisted his rifle up, reloaded that at he approached the Colonel as he groveled trying to stand. Eagle only had a stony, murderous expression.

“I fucking told you.” He looked over to Tato with a hanging beak as he was going to speak, but found her merely standing there panting. He looked over to Sparks surprised, and stared at the pistol in her magic grasp, and nodded. “Good job Sparks.”

“Alright Eagle,” the Colonel said, gasping in pain “just finish it already.”

“Why would I Colonel?” He looked over to Green as she stood over the other, nameless griffon; covered in red splatters and droplets as she had managed to beat his head into a bloody pulp; pieces of feathers and tissue clung to her hooves. “I ought to leave you here bleeding in the dirt with pretty boy over there.”

“You know why Eagle!” He half shouted as he tried to roll over, but before he could stand Eagle fired his revolver into one of his legs. The limb shuddered and blood squirted out of the wound in a small ribbon, and the Colonel screamed. “Ah, fuckin’ hell!!”

“Why should I give a shit about what you want, huh!?” Eagle shouted at him, and the Colonel started laughing grimly.

“Talon doesn’t do desk jobs you know!! What use is a griffon to them with only... with only one fuckin’ wing! You won Eagle, and now I’m fucked and you know it!!”

Eagle quickly and succinctly put two bullets in the griffon’s head with a sneer, shaking his head. “Shut the fuck up Garret.” He stepped around him and approached the chariot and the three mares with a grimace. “Had enough of your wind damned mouth.”

“Damn Eagle...!” Tato said, still shaking from head to hooves. “He... he didn’t need to die...!”

“The fuck he didn’t.” Green said, limping to the chariot and smearing blood off her mouth. “That fuckin’ featherhead ambushes us on the road and you want to leave him breathin’? Ain’t the way to be farm filly.”

“Enough!” Eagle shouted as he turned around, scouting out the horizon for other threats. “We can bitch and moan later, Green and I will get what we can off them while you and Sparks get the damn chariot running. Move it!” Eagle pointed a talon at Tato, then toSparks. “I don’t care how much juice that cell’s got, we’re getting out of here.”

Sparks held a wide eyed expression as she stared at the Colonel, Garret Eagle had called him, as he lay on the ground, dead with ashes scattered around him. She realized that once again she had taken a life, effectively speaking. His words emanated in her mind, and she felt guilt deep inside her well up before Eagle shouted again. “Sparks!! Get the chariot up and running, we are getting out of here!”

She recoiled from his demands before turning around and set to work with shaky hooves and magic. Tato came up from behind her, limping as she did, and set a hoof on her back. “Hey, Sparks... stay with me girl, okay?” She stayed quiet as she fumbled with the sparkle cells, putting them back into her packs along with the clamps. Her body shook, as Tato felt, and she rubbed her back trying to help her out of whatever she was feeling. “Sparks, come on now, talk to me...”

“What should I say!?” Sparks shouted as she threw her head to her, her eyes watering. “I nearly take a b-bullet to the head and I’m s-supposed to be calm!?”

“Of course not girl!” Tato said, her eyes wincing from her own wounds. “Of course not!”

She grabbed Sparks and hugged her fiercely, despite her protests. After a few moments she relented and broke apart in her embrace. For a minute or so she merely wept into Tato’s chest as she patted her back, shushing her. “Hey, it’s okay Sparks... It’s going to be okay...” She turned her head to where Eagle and Green were looting the three dead griffons with a wicked, hateful glare, but she turned back and kept trying to comfort Sparks. “Don’t think about it, it didn’t happen okay...?”

“B-but it c-c-could have!” she stuttered out weeping, but Tato held her tighter.

“But it didn’t, alright? It didn’t. Don’t think about it...”

After a few minutes Sparks wept the last of her tears, and sniffled with swollen eyes. She looked to Tato and nodded, speaking in near whispers. “Th-Thanks...”

“Don’t mention it girl... you, well... I owe you. Now, let’s see about fixing this up, huh?”Sparks nodded, and turned around as she wiped her nose with a sleeve, and replaced the large sparkle cell into the chariot.

Eagle turned over Garret last, as he grumbled under his breath as he heard the entire exchange. He wanted to bail out of there as soon as possible, but he knew whipping Sparksany harder would render her useless. He merely shook his head as he turned over his old accomplice, dug through the dead griffon’s satchels and bags to find a decent haul. The griffon came light, he mused, and wondered if he knew he wouldn’t win the fight. Only a few magazines of ammunition he could use and some basic medical supplies, some water canteens and such.

Little more than a bare bones travel kit for crossing distances. He shook his head and wondered further if he meant to die there. He remembered their old times together, in Talon Company. He was the griffon, one of the few that understood Eagle and why he did what he did... so long ago it seemed as he looked back through the years.

However, in the end he was the very griffon that let him live afterwards, and he was the very griffon sent after him -chasing after broken promises and his head. Eagle wondered if he was truly the type of griffon to purposefully die, maybe he wanted it that way instead of croaking to old age or something stupid like a raider attack; maybe he wanted to die to something worth dying to. The thought burned a hole in his mind as he turned around and looked at the corpses of his small squad.

“Hopefully not.” He said under his breath. If that was the case, then he led two others to die with him. It twisted an emotion inside him. Disgust. Shaking his head he looked over to Green, who was hauling a saddlebag brimming with equipment on her back as she limpedalong., and he looked back to Sparks and Tato as they stood up from the chariot and shut the hood. He sighed, and spoke levelly. “Alright, let’s pack up and get out of here. Sparks, can you operate in the chariot?”

“It...” she said, coarsely as she rubbed her throat with a hoof “it might be difficult, but probably.”

“Alright. You tend to them while we drive. Mount up mares; we’re leaving.”

*** *** ***

It had been two hours after Red Eagle had started up the chariot to their relief. Sparksstitched up Tato and Green, their wounds more superficial flesh wounds than anything; shots meant to disable, not kill to which she was thankful. A removed bullet and dollops of healing potion later and all they were was dirty and blood matted around the wounds. She was glad to help them, again, and sighed when she put her tools away.

The terrain over that time became rocky and mountainous as the open plains of The Wasteland ebbed away, and they began to climb upwards into the mountain roads that twisted and turned about the landscape as sheer cliffs and rock ledges became common sights along the path. The road itself was treacherous, at least for the chariot, which made Eagle’s driving become seemingly erratic and slow as he tried to avoid the worst of the rubble and rockslides that littered the way. He had walked this same path nearly a month ago, and remembered some of the sights, but the sheer width of the chariot became more of a hindrance than a boon.

One thing entered Sparks’ mind as they drove on. They had left the bodies behind them, unceremoniously for whatever Wastelandic vultures could find them, and Sparks still didn’t truly grasp the why of it all. She knew why, per se, but the curiosity in her head as the shock of the entire dilemma had passed into weariness.

She looked over to Eagle, her radio silent as she had no mood for the music she found so beautiful. “Eagle...?” she said, withdrawn. “Can I... ask you a question?”

“Hasn’t stopped you before; but sure... got nothing else to do.”

“Why did... they attack us? Those griffons with... Talon Company?” Eagle sighed, and he shifted in the seat as he scratched his beak.

“That’s a long story... probably longer than I’m willing to look back.”

“We got a few hours don’t we?” Green said, admittedly curious. “Might as well hear something that isn’t that isn’t that damned radio.”

Eagle grumbled under his breath and rubbed his eyes. “Alright, fine then. Well... the short version is I used to work for them. I left around... five or six years ago after I... committed what they call a ‘gross dereliction of duty’. They’ve had a bounty on my head ever since.”

Tato looked at him with squinted eyes and spoke; confusion in her expression. “A... what?”

“Gross dereliction of duty; I called it justice but they wouldn’t have any of it. Every creature’s got their idea of what is or isn’t a crime, but that was their problem, not mine.” He sighed again as he looked back through the years. “That justice I saw to was on a section of Talon itself. One of their units, the fourth company, was hanging around Appleloosa, dealing with the slavers there. I had a problem with that, and killed them.”

“All of them?” Green asked with disbelief. “How many guys we talkin’ about?”

“There were maybe twenty of them. I don’t remember exactly how much, but in the end all of them were dead at camp. It was Garret back there who was my commander at the time, and he was sent to the camp when they got their distress calls.” He shook his head as he remembered; his beak twisted into grimaces as Green whistled. “In the end I called in a favor, and he let me go. Said it was because he ‘liked me’, that I was a good soldier in the Company, but such a crime wasn’t going to be tolerated. He said he’d let me go only if I left the Central Wastelands for good. That he’d say I ran off and escaped ‘justice’, alter the reports.

“Truth is he didn’t want to die trying to fight me. I sat in a camp of two dozen dead griffons, armed and trained killers and fighters. Doesn’t matter though as he’s dead now. The only thing I regret from that time was I took the deal and left Appleloosa standing.”

“To be honest,” Tato said, sorrowfully “even had you... well, killed them all they’d be replaced. I’ve seen it before with raiders at least; too many ponies or... whatever, around here willing to slave others out for a quick cap.”

“Pretty much.” Eagle said, glowering at the road ahead. “That’s how I’ve dealt with it; no shortage of shitty creatures.”

Sparks sat uncomfortably in her seat as she shifted around and learned of another group who perpetrated evils in her eyes to hate. She turned to Eagle as she spoke. “Sooo... does all of Talon do that kind of thing? Raiding and... and slaving?”

“Thankfully not.” He said flatly. “Don’t think I would have worked for them if that was the case. This was just one group; they got a contract out of Appleloosa to guard the town, deal with idiot raiders or competition. When I saw two of them trying to haul three ponies by chains though I felt as if every griffon wearing that damn insignia needed killing. Not anymore though. But... that’s the why of it. Not much else to tell.”

Sparks nodded as she began to understand. Her growing hate for the group alleviated, she sank back into her seat and relaxed as much as she could, but her weariness was edged with anticipation as she looked out the slated window. The skies were darker than usual, but her PipBuck said it was noon. She turned back to Eagle and spoke again. “Um... Eagle, is it normal for it to be this dark around noon?”

“Not unless we’ve got a storm coming,” he said as he peered outside, up to the sky “which seems to be the case; finally going to get some rain it looks like.” He turned to Sparks, curiosity in his eyes. “Where are we at Sparks? On the map.”

She brought her PipBuck up and dialed the buttons until the map of Equestria blipped into existence, keyed in on their position, and she zoomed out a ways to get her bearings. “It looks like we’re... up near the Foal Mountains. They’re east of us and, erm... Canterlot is West.”

“Good...” He sighed in relief. “Maybe we can be left alone for a minute. With that storm heading our way I’d like to charge the battery a bit more before it hits. Don’t want to be left out in the open with a storm like that if I can help it.”

“Aren’t you worried about more ambushes Eagle?” Green piped up, her words edged with suspense. “Last pit stop wasn’t pleasant to say the least.”

“The only thing this far north will be overly desperate raiders or mutants crawling around. If we’re quick we can charge up and bail before there’s an issue.” He said, pulling the vehicle over into an alcove of rocks on the side of the road, and switched the engine off. The rumbling cacophony ceased, and they all disembarked and stretched themselves out.

“Alright,” Eagle said as he popped the hood open, the clunk loud and clear “Sparks, go ahead and get as much juice in the sparkle cell as you can, We’ve got...” he paused as he looked up and sniffed the air, watching the clouds above threaten rain “maybe an hour, or half of one to do this.”

“Got it Eagle.” She said, and she approached the hood and opened it. Propping it open she again detached the clamps and removed the cell, withdrew her tools and went to work again. Eagle, Tato, and Green went to watch the path for anything suspicious, and the only company they had on that mountainside was the whistling air that barreled against the stones.

She looked down at the sparkle cells, clamps on them as she siphoned the power held within, and surprising herself she managed to smile. She remembered Tato’s words of comfort, from earlier that day and yesterday when they stopped for the night, and she managed to smile.

It was a small comfort, perhaps, but enough for her to hold her head up and breathe deeply, calmly. For now, that’s all she needed; a little calm and quiet to think without being... well, she didn’t want to think of that. Not now as she simply worked.

*** *** ***

Around forty-eight minutes later she had managed to drain another three of her sparkle cells into the big one, and she nodded with pleasure to her handiwork. She unclamped the cells and replaced the large one back into it’s compartment, retightened the clamps and stood while packing away her tools. After she had left the chariot and went towards Eagle though, a hellish breeze caught her mane and tail in a frenzy of a sudden.

She gazed into the sky, and with a subtle spinning sensation she saw the dark and ominous cloud layer that stretched from horizon to horizon seemed to be teeming with wrath in her judgment. She hadn’t paid it much attention over the time, and it puzzled her as to what was exactly happening with the swirls and chaotic motions in the atmosphere. A slicing chill ran through her body, and she shivered terribly as her barding seemed to be little more than tissue paper as protection against it.

With an instinctive motion she rubbed a hoof on her sleeves and spoke with a sudden, deeper chill that ran the length of her spine; impairing speech with shudders.

“Wh-what is... oh buck w-what’s going on?” Eagle, who was approaching to ask for an update, shook his thoughts and peered up into the sky when Sparks spoke, and a single drop of water landed with a small crash on is hat's brim. Another, and more in pairs came, until almost all at once a torrential downpour came smashing down with nearly frigid rainwater as Tato and Green scrambled up the road to get out of the freezing rain.

He grinned, grimly with a strange humor that made him look to Sparks as she shook her entire body with a soaked and hanging mane. He shouted to her over the deluge as he approached the chariot in a steady pace, already near soaking wet. “A thunderstorm! I hope you’re done with that battery!”

After he spoke a massive, almost ungoddessly powerful force ripped the sky in two halves with ribbons of blinding neon greenish-white light simply materialized before Sparks’ eyes. It was in her mind subtly beautiful, if not absolutely terrifying to witness, but the roaring report that shook the very ground and heavens of Equus as the resonant and tremulous bellow that followed drowned out all other senses available to them in one sudden and demanding presence.

Sparks, wide eyed and absolutely panicked, mindlessly tried to gallop and panted fiercely as she did in the freshly forming mud around her hooves before the harsh notes of thunder ebbed away into the distance. A massive wave of confusion came crashing down on her mind, much like the sudden rain, as she found difficulty in the most simple thing she could think of; galloping.

The slick mud impeded her stomping and splashing rush and the sheer weight of her now soaking wet barding made her slipping limbs incredibly insufficient at carrying her newfound weight with the momentum. Her eyes, now clogged with water as she tried to gallop back to the chariot, betrayed her as she plowed directly into the side paneling, all but missing a few of the remaining barbs in the steel.

She scrambled to her hooves, her lower body slick with wet and mushy earth, and she tugged on the door of the truck with her hooves as her magic was scared out of her, and finally ripped it open before burying herself inside and slamming the door shut.

Eagle entered the truck shortly after, followed by Tato and Green, and he had to suppress a chuckle as he looked at Sparks’ drenched and mud-caked form. Her eyes wide and pupil’s pinpricks from the terror, and her whole body found difficulty breathing in the constricted enclosure of the chariot. She shook her head repeatedly, slinging water everywhere within the vehicle as she tried to catch her breath and couldn’t speak, could barely breathe, and her whole body trembled from the ferocious display of power as another bolt tore the world apart in the sky above.

She curled onto herself, trying her best to silence the monstrous cacophony as she pressed her mud covered hooves against her ears without concern for their muddied forms. She cursed loudly, without reservation perhaps, for the first time in her life to everyone’s surprise with her sudden outburst. “Great and holy Goddesses!! Oh fuck, oh fuck!! What the-”

Her words choked into an unintelligible jumble of words that lost their volume as a third lightning bolt sundered the sky as if the Goddesses themselves reprimanded her words. She merely squeaked as her body twisted up into a ball, and Eagle chuckled with equally surprising mirth as he gripped the steering bit and started the chariot's engine. The vehicle's once loud and cantankerous rumbles and pops now likened to a mouse’s timid squeaks inSparks’ mind. “Oooh, this is even better than I thought I would be.”

Tato tilted her head with an aghast expression as she spoke in reprimanding tones; she was afraid of lightning a little herself. “Eagle! This isn’t funny!”

Green burst out laughing, and she shook her mane hard slinging water all about the interior and across every creature within. “The fuck it ain’t! Holy shit! I haven’t seen a freak out over weather this bad in forever!”

Green held her belly with her own mud covered hooves as she had full body laughter that nearly out shouted the beating rain that caused a steady and deafening pitter patter on the steel of the chariot, and after a few moments Eagle began to share in the mirth with the only perceptible proof of which being his sporadically bobbing shoulders.

He was trying his best to suppress it, but failing magnificently and chuckled up a storm, and Tato only started laughing herself when the fear of the storm subsided in favor for the sheer hilarity of Green’s painful looking cackles.

Sparks opened her wet eyes, with a mixture of tears and rainwater that made it impossible to tell what really reddened her eyes, and she saw their amusement in mixed perceptions. She wanted to scream at them, tear at them with insults and demand why they took such wicked pleasure in it. Only...

She began to laugh with them, at herself.

It was then, for the one time in her life she did such a thing, and she realized with aching clarity that she was perhaps taking the entire debacle way to seriously. Tato and Green laughing she could excuse or cast aside as expected, but Eagle? She hadn’t seen him crack a single genuine smile or chuckle beyond once or twice, and all instances were short lived and smothered by his callousness. Up until now that old and scarred griffon was a stoic wall of stone, unfeeling, and lacking any mirth she could see.

Even he was laughing at her. The ridiculous display of fear, while it still hammered in her mind as lightning flashed around them, made them all take joyous merriment in it, and it made her terribly self aware of how foolish it must seem to be so wildly afraid of something without much cause beyond fear itself.

This realization made her begin chuckling, slowly but surely, and eventually she joined the jollity with her own cute squeaking laughs. Nothing, not the rain or the storms, not raiders or... anything could strip that from her now, not even The Wasteland itself it felt. With it, they merely laughed away what remaining glee could be given, and in a few pure minutes of separation from the world’s problems they all simply existed in the moment; laughing at each other and a little filly’s fears.

Once they had settled down seeing that Sparks had joined the frivolity, they all adjusted themselves back to what relative comfort they could garner from the seats, and Eagle looked around the cabin with a small smirk on his beak and spoke warmly in low tones.“Everypony good?”

Green spoke up first as she rubbed her aching sides with her hooves. “Oh yeah, yeah I’m good...”

Eagle looked to Tato doing much of the same thing, wiping her eyes with her forelegs. “Yeah, let’s hit it... oh fuck!”

He turned to Sparks who merely nodded with a wide set smile across her lips as she wiped her own eyes and ears trying to get the mud and muck out of them, and Eagle returned the expression as he shifted the chariot into reverse and pulled out of the alcove. Shifting back into drive he peered out of the slated windshield and found that the atrocious rain didn’t hamper visibility much to his surprise.

He shook his head with a dull chuckle and slowly sped ahead into the north again, and with a silent mixture of praise he thanked and cursed Sparks for the laugh. It had been decades since he had laughed like that, and it comforted him and pained him in equal measure.

Footnote: Red Eagle level 21

Sparks level 3

Next Chapter: Chapter 12: Pet Estimated time remaining: 5 Hours, 38 Minutes