Signing Off
It had been over a week since the last transmission from Captain Graceland, over a week since whatever happened in the bunker and in that time Twiligot had been at the radio trying to find the signal she had given up sleeping and barely ate. She had to know what happened she had to know they were ok. Deep down she knew something bad had happened as ponies don’t scream like that for no reason and she could only imagine what the bangs and clattering had been that seemed to be causing it.
“Come ne, come on where are you Captain, don’t tell me you gave up transmitting. “Twilight said as she turned dials. She cursed the fact she hadn’t built the radio with a mic and broadcaster so she could have spoken to the Captain and let him know somepony was listening and could hear him and did care.
“Come on, you have to work, you haven’t failed to pick up the signal yet.” Twilight said as she worked, she had to find the signal.
“Twilight?” She heard Spike say from the door.
“I’m a bit busy Spike.” Twilight said not taking her eyes off the dials as she turned them.
“We know surgarcube, that’s why we are here. “Applejack said as she walked in followed by the rest of Twilights friends. “And frankly we are concerned ‘bout you Twi, Spike tells us you haven’ left this room since we left last week.”
“Has it been that long? I haven’t noticed.” Twilight said as she adjusted dials.
The five mares looked at each other as Twi didn’t seem to really be paying any attention to them. They then looked back out the door and stepped to the side as two other entered the room.
“Twilight your friends are very concerned about you.” A voice said causing the Twilight to freeze and slowly turn away from the radio to see both Princess Celestia and Luna standing by the door her friends to one side of the room.
“P-Princess!” Twilight said and quickly spun around and bowed out of reflex.
“Rise Twilight you do not need to bow.” Celestia said with a small smile.
The younger Alicorn quickly rose with a small blush on her face. “Wh-why are you here Princess?” Twilight asked running a hoof through her mane to try and fix it as best as she could.
“We sent for her darling.” Rarity spoke up. “You haven’t left this room in over a week and spike told us you haven’t slept and have barley eaten anything.”
“I’m fine.” Twilight said trying to not show how exhausted she was.
“Twi you and the rest of us know you aren’t, you’ve never stayed up this long before.” Applejack said.
“Yes Twilight Sparkle I have noticed your dreams have been absent for some time so we know you have not slept at all.” Luna said.
“Twilight I understand discovering proof of life on other planets is important but you shouldn’t sacrifice your health for it.” Celestia said. “You have already made great stride from what your friends tell me and I’m sure you can rest and come back to it.”
Twilight looked at her hooves. “This isn’t about proof of aliens….”She said quietly and the gathered ponies shared looks.
“Then pray tell us Twilight what is it you sacrifice yourself for?” Luna asked for the group.
Twilight looked back up at each of them, a few tears at the edge of her eyes. “I need to know what is happing to them.” She said and the other looked back. “Captain Graceland and the rest of them are trapped in some sort of desperate situation and Graceland has been sending out messages hoping to find help or just anypony else. I might not be able to reply to him or send help but I can at least listen to him so he isn’t quite so alone even if he doesn’t know somepony can hear him.” She said and looked back at the radio. “Somepony has to listen.” She said making her way back and started to adjust dials again.
The other ponies and even the Princess shared looked before they all entered the room fully, Celestia walking up to Twilight. “I understand you feel this way Twilight but is it really so important to lose sleep over?”
“Yes.” Twilight didn’t hesitate as she adjusted the dials. “Something happened Princess, something bad, real bad. I need to know what happened and I can’t miss Graceland’s transmission.”
The Solar Princess nodded and could tell this meant a lot to the younger Alicorn and she had to admit to herself that seeing her student so concerned for these aliens’ well ebbing did make her proud.
The speakers suddenly let forth a slightly wet sounding cough causing everyone in the room to face the radio.
This…..this is…Captain Graceland….US National Guard…..like it really fucking matters anymore.
Twilight’s ears went against her head tightly as she could hear the Captain’s breathing heavily and how bad it sounded, it sounded like he fluids in his lungs.
As of……3 hours ago I am the last living person in this bunker.
Twilight looked at the radio in horror. “No….”
Things got so much worse…you can’t put people in a small space while they are getting sick and not expect them to panic somehow….we were all scared the civilians and my men. The civilians thought we had some sort of medicine to fix all of this, thought we were keeping it for ourselves and some of them attacked my men….all hell broke loose as the civilians panicked and my men panicked…..by the time I was able to regain control half the civilians were dead and the other either injured or scare shitless.
I couldn’t punish my men for defending themselves and I couldn’t blame the civilians, we all have so deep in the shit that it was bound to happen.
I had the bodies moved to another part of the bunker so the civilians could calm down a bit, not that they really trusted us anymore but they were too scared to do anything. I did what I could to try and smooth things over and so did Mrs. Andrews who seems to be the only one not panicked.
Twilight recoiled as the speaks set forth with more coughs.
Damn that hurts like hell.
The civilians kept getting sick and even some of my men started t as well…..the iodine pills did nothing for the kids….their bodies weren’t strong enough to fight the radiation.
If was shortly after the first deaths when everyone was feeling the effects when…well I guess you could call it an incident happened.
Corporal Smithers, I guess he couldn’t take the pain anymore…he drew his side arm and before anyone could stop him blew his brains all over the back wall of the main room…right in front of everyone else.
We quickly calmed the civilians and removed the bodies but….but I saw the way a lot of them looked after that…I could tell what they were thinking….
I made a decision….we had a lot of morphine left….so…so I gave them the option….I don’t know if that makes me a monster or a saint….whatever I am I have to live with for whatever remains of my life.
It started off…slowly, just a couple of the sickest….then a few more….then more taking the offer….by the time it was over it was just me, Sergeant Fromen, Private Locklear and Mrs. Andrews left….and….and I had to watch them die.
Mrs. Andrews was the last to go…and do you know what she told me before she went?
She told me none of this was my fault.
Twilight and the other flinched as Graceland laughed bitterly.
Not my fault, that’s rich. I had one job, one simple job. Keep my men and the civilians alive and look at it now? This bunker that was supposed to keep us alive became our tomb.
Twiglet flinched as Graceland had another coughing fit that lasted longer then the last.
Oh….that’s not good…looks like my lungs are filling with blood.
They heard the Captain laughed bitterly again.
Guess it’s what I deserve for failing my duty, living long enough to watch everyone I was supposed to protect die and then take the longest to die myself, it’s what I deserve. I failed; there is no excuse as there are dozens of other things I could have done that would have prevented this outcome.
And you want to know the best part about all of this? Do you?
All this happened over a dispute over land, that’s right, a small strip of land lead them to destroying to world with the push of a button. Isn’t it amazing? Something so stupid lead to the world burning.
The radio let forth more coughs and Twilight could tell the captain as having more trouble breathing.
I don’t even know why the hell I’m bothering to talk into this damn thing, I doubt anyone is listening. I don’t even know if there is anyone left alive. Hell for all I know we were the only ones to survive and now we are dead.
I don’t know….maybe I’m talking in case someone is listing….that way they know what happened in this god forsaken hole and know we tried, lord knows we tried.
Maybe some else out there is doing better then use, hell maybe after I die a rescue team will arrive e and open the door ready to save all our sorry asses only to find a tomb. Or maybe civilization will come back and centuries from down some archeologist will find this bunker and open it up and find our skeletons and will debate what happened to us and we will end up as some foot note in history.
Who the fuck knows?
The speakers let froth Graceland’s bitter laugh once more that devolved into coughs.
I don’t think I have much longer left to live.
Guess this is it huh?
My final words.
I wonder what they should be?
May god have mercy on our souls?
No to cliché and I doubt he would anyways.
Long live America?
Think it’s a little late to say that
How about this.
I am a failure, I failed my men and I failed the civilians who were depending on me to save them. Their blood is on my hands and no one else’s. Every death in this hole is on me, not my men not the bastard who fired the nukes. Me and only me.
Yeah…that will work.
This is Captain Jared Graceland, United States National Guard signing off for the last time and I am a failure.
With that the radio went dead.
No one in the room spoke, what could they say? They just heard the last words of a dying person who thought he was a failure and that no one heard them.
Carefully Twilight reached out and turned off her radio. “You weren’t a failure Captain….you did your best and nopony can fault you for that…”She said quietly as she turned from the radio and walked to the door. Slowly the others left one by one. No one spoke; they were all in their own heads trying to process what they had just heard.
They had just heard the final words of a dying planet that was bathed in fire by the hands of those who lived upon it something nopony could ever imagine happening in their worst nightmares…
In nuclear war all men are cremated equal. --Dexter Gordon
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Should be ate.
Someone*
---
Overall, I found this an interesting read. There were a few things they kinda bit at me, but—if anything—it did give me a few ideas I might play with in the future. It's a fic that makes you think I suppose.
Well done.
This was truly great. Have a full house. (Fav and the like.)
That gave me chills... the end of the world tends to do that to you.
Not sure what else I can say, it was a good fanfic, sad, but a good fanfic. I think there's only one phrase I can end this comment on, and even that doesn't seem enough:
"War, war never changes."
I DEMAND A SEQUEL!!!! Pwease
7071753 I am honestly not sure how I could make a sequel to this. the people are dead.
reads like " On The Beach" witnessed from the outside.
ps no sequel, in my opinion such as it is it would trivialize the impact.
7072098 hmm...never heard of it. what is it?
easest way to show you just Google on the beach for more.
On the Beach is a 1957 post-apocalyptic novel written by British-Australian author Nevil Shute after he emigrated to Australia. Wikipedia
Originally published: 1957
7072186 oh I thought it was a Fic on here.
.
Damn Good quote for the end. Good story, however morbid. Makes me feel uneasy, reminds me of The Vaults too much.
Oh and in 10, 20, years remember 2 things Celestia
1. Go to war for Justice or defence, not recorces. Its not worth people's lives.
2. War, war never changes.
Very well written...
Also a bit scary...
7072821 thank you for the compliment, this was the first time I wrote a story like this so was trying to get it right.
That was a really good story, kinda sad and a little dark with everyone dyeing in the end but thats the only way a story like that could end. Well I guess maybe if Twilight could have found a way to talk to them, well maybe that wouldent have changed anything in the end but it may have made it easier on the people.
Anyway Ill stop so I dont take up to much you your time.
7073149 hey I love reading people thoughts on my story so take as much time as you want.
"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones."
Albert Einstein
Good story!
Maybe look for an cover-art. Far too many readers (not me) are ignoring stories without one.
And if you do, don't foget to add the source as well.
7088703 I've already put in a request for cover-art in the Art For Fanific group but that was a couple of weeks ago, I may need to hunt the neat for a place holder.
I am glad you enjoyed it this depressing little fic of mine.
Thank you for this story.
7119777 no problem, thank you for reading the story.
Wow! I just read this all in one sitting.
I wish there was a sequel or something. Maybe Twilight could actually respond to a different group of survivors. Or maybe just a flipped version where people from earth were hearing radio frequencies from Equis after a huge civil war or something.
Hell I don't know.
What I do know is that this was great.
Thank you for this story!
7162141 wow thank you for the praise, it really means a lot to me.
as for a sequel I have no real idea how I would, the response idea does work do to how radio waves work the transmissions she was listing to are most likely hundreds of years old.
though humans hearing MLP radio that is an interesting idea.
7162150
Just ideas!
Overall, I really enjoyed the story. It kept me engaged and wondering what happened. I actually suspected a more zombiesque feel once I got about half way through. I was happily mistaken, so thank you!
You did very well. I also read your story Soldier of Magic. I'm not displeased. I'm actually very impressed! Keep up the great work!
7162220 I'm glad i was able to surprise you, i tried to keep what had happened for as long as possible and just make it a disaster before hints started coming out of what it was.
and i plan to keep up the god work.
also if you are interested there is a sequel and side fic to Soldier of Magic.
7162233
I did notice the sequel and Side story! I will definitely be checking in to read them soon! :3
7162258 looking forward to hearing thought thoughts.
Pretty good story.
One thing puzzles me, though. Chapter 1 had the EBS declaring the emergency in 48 continental states. Hawaii, naturally wouldn't be in that list. Neither would DC, being the most likely to be vaporized in the first strike so wouldn't be worth bothering about--
But with Alaska in the list, does that mean one of the other 49 in the list between California and Washington State "got spared"?
7349285 that...was a typo. Huh...hadn't even noticed that. Thanks for pointing that out.
Also glad you enjoyed the story.
7349400 Oh, okay. Makes sense. But, thinking back on my earlier post, I just realized there was one other possibility.
Given that Rhode Island is so small, like DC, it's another potential "one-hit-you're-dead" target that would likely have been left off the list.
scorch i love the eery after taste that lets on at the end, would you like to writte a "final words for an exterminatus"
7363900 write a what??
7363913 for warhammer 40k, and imperium exterminatus ( basicaly aplanetary wide destruction by the inquisition of the imperium of mankind)
if you make a final word for something like this,
ohhh boy it will be awesome
7364336 um.....OK THST still didn't explain what you mean by final word.
Actually THST only seems to have made less sense.
7364355 finals words like in this story
7364559 I think I'll let the story speak for itself as I don't think anything I could say wouldn't speak nearly as loudly.
7365996 thats the point, it would be a series of transmisions leading up to the exterminatus including the inquisitor's speech before one.
7462232 I was wondering when some one would realize that.
Yes these broadcasted are very very old and were made a very long time ago.
I'm glad to see someone figured out that aspect of the story.
I listened to the two first chapters via this guy's reading. But, it wasn't marked part 1, therefore I assumed that it was the entire fic and left a fav' here. I assumend it ended with an open ending, which was good even at that point.
Nevertheless, then I noticed that there were more parts, and decided to read them myself. Technically, there are some typos and misplaced words, but nevermind that. The story is good. I'm a bit of a sucker for these human transmission-fics myself, and you did it well here. It was a bit concerning to read about the ponies surrouning the speaker as a friendly gathering, or whatever to call it, but the affect Graceland's words had on them made it all good.
Overall, the fic is a bit rough around the edges, but the story it tells is enjoyable and interesting.
The fav' stays.
7625336 well its not really a theory. Its how Radio Waves work. Theu do have a speed and if you were to send them out into open space. It could be centuries before they reached another planet.
So yeah these are all old signals. Very very old.
Just another little depressing fact for a depressing fic.
Damn this was deep
Good story you get a like and a fave
........sniff.....Damn I feel like crying in corner now..
I wouldn't mind seeing a Follow up to this, maybe after this it sparks (no pun intended) a need in Twilight to find a way to get to Earth to save those she can (or Time Travel to save those in the Bunker) and years down the line she arrives at Earth to see the devastation first hand.
Food for thought I guess?
Very brutal way for the survivors to go out. I really enjoyed this story a lot. :)
F
Every word from the Captain I read, imitating his voice, made me feel in his situation.
F
Damn, you know they’re traumatized.
Captain Jared Graceland, you did your duty and you did your best.... You shall be remembered with honor, l salute you
11118663
That would make sense.
Humanity's ability to create is incredible while humanity's ability to destroy is unbelievable. Humanity will always be its own worst enemy.
11830980
Oh ok
You asked why I favorited your fic. The short version is that it made me feel things. For the (very) long version, I hope you will forgive a depressing rant filled with self-indulgent venting. Feel free not to read.
Over the past eight years I have spent a lot of time thinking about humanity's future. With the technological and social progress I had seen in the US, I used to think that we were on the road to a Star-Trek-style utopia. Surely mass automation, mass communication, and mass freedom of information will deliver us from evil into a post-scarcity heaven of eternal leisure, all watched over by machines of loving grace.
Maintaining that belief has proved impossible for a variety of reasons. I learned a decent amount about global politics, sociology, history, and the deteriorating climate. Perhaps more impactfully, I kept up-to-date with current events. The recent needless bloodshed in Ukraine and Palestine made this line feel painfully believable:
Unless someone rewrites the human genome to make us friendlier or transforms the global political and economic system, I no longer expect humanity to become a post-scarcity interstellar utopia. If we cannot even cooperate to stop ongoing genocides or reverse the ecological destruction of our own home planet, then I doubt we can cooperate to build a society whose political system gives everyone a life of health, happiness, and leisure. I still hope that someday we will, and would give anything to make it so. Unfortunately, that hope increasingly seems as implausible as First Contact with Equestria. In Carl Sagan's words,
What hurts the most about imagining human civilization end is how many people have poured so much time and effort into making the world a better place for us. Humans have unfathomable knowledge and power. So many of us want a better world, but we still live in power structures that insist on war and exploitation. So many people have tried—
Imagining better futures for humanity, and cheery fictional civilizations like Equestria, only makes their contrast with human nation-states more painful.
Don't tell anyone, but if aliens invaded and overthrew our political structures, then I might cry with relief and join them — as long as they have good climate and healthcare policies!Captain Graceland strikes me as a compelling stand-in for a modern/future generation of humanity: wading shoulder-deep in a rising ocean of blood shed by his superiors and his ancestors, blaming himself when his friends drown.
But as Twilight says, Jared wasn't a failure — or at least it wasn't his fault. He didn't fire the nukes. He didn't hoard a cure for radiation poisoning. He didn't declare the war. He didn't claim the land. He didn't invent the atom bomb, the gun, the United States, the nation-state, or the concept of exclusive land ownership. He did what he could to comfort people and ease their suffering.
I don't think any individual human is ever really to blame. Millions make choices that cause incalculable harm, but their choices are caused by the genetic and environmental factors that shaped their minds. If anything, I blame evolution for making us so short-sighted and xenophobic. I do not know why power attracts reckless and callous people, or why it makes people more reckless and callous, but that sickness is very hard to cure.
The idea of a better, more loving and harmonious civilization discovering the mess we made ourselves and still giving us sympathy — even going so far as to say it's not your fault; you did the best you could — kind of makes me want to cry. Is this how some Catholics feel at Confession? Probably not really, because every mainstream Christian denomination blames us for our “fallen” nature. But I am way off track.
A ray of hope too clear and distinct to deny is that we at least haven't nuked ourselves into oblivion yet. If you asked scientists and politicians from 1949, “How many nuclear attacks do you expect in the next 75 years?,” very few would correctly say “Zero.” Even the most evil dictators fear M.A.D.
Plus, global cooperation discovered the hole in the ozone layer and global cooperation closed it. Outrage against unjust institutions continues to grow, at least in my country among the youngest generation. We must be doing something right. Per Sagan again, "The significance of our lives, and our fragile planet, is then determined only by our own wisdom and courage."
I guess I just mean that I really like stories using MLP:FiM and First Contact to hold up a mirror to humanity. I like when they make us question which of our normal practical necessities are unnecessary evils, and ask what we as humans can do better. Stardust by Arad is the best example IMO, but your fic did this well too.
If you want advice on how to improve, I would start by fixing the grammar/spelling mistakes. I spotted a lot of run-on sentences.
If you read this whole comment, then thanks.