The Last of Us Ponies

Chapter 3: Cornered

Clockwork awoke the following morning and was pleased to see that the rain had finally stopped. The sky was still cloudy and gloomy but at least there was no downpour of cold rain. Clockwork pulled himself out of bed; took a quick, cold shower; got dressed in his usual outfit which consisted of a white buttoned down shirt, a brown and lengthy overcoat, and a pair of sleek, black glasses; and exited his apartment.

As he made his way down the hallway, he came across a mare leaning against one of the hallway windows and looking out upon the bleak, but now thankfully dry, landscape of the Manehattan safe zone. She was around his age and had a blonde mane, orange coat, and a cutie mark that consisted of three apples. Clockwork knew this mare all too well. He didn't know her personally, for he and her only shared the occasional 'hello' or 'good day', but he knew who she was. He knew what she used to be known as. "Morning, Applejack," he said as he passed by. He came to a stop about a foot past her and she turned towards him.

"Morning," she said in return while scratching her head. "Uh...Clockwork, ain't it?"

"Correct. Well, have a nice day." Applejack nodded to Clockwork as a sign of farewell. Clockwork turned away from the mare and made his way through a nearby door and down the stairwell that stood beyond it. As he descended the steps, Clockwork found himself thinking of the good days. He refrained from thinking of his own past but instead focused on thinking of Applejack's past.

I bet I'm probably the only one around my age in this city who even gives a damn to remember who she was, Clockwork thought as he arrived on the ground floor of his apartment building. An Element of Harmony, she was. He passed through the front lobby and stepped through the front doors. She represented the Element of...Honesty, I believe. A humid gust of wind collided with his body as he stepped out onto the soggy road. I wonder what ever happened to those Elements of Harmony. Clockwork coughed a bit as he passed by a group of smoking teenagers who didn't even bother to give him the time of day. Equestria could sure as hell use those right about now. Clockwork's stomach rumbled a tad as he reached a familiar intersection. It was here that he realized that he had forgotten to eat breakfast before leaving his apartment. "Great," he sighed. Suddenly, a familiar scent of baking bread wafted through the air. Clockwork knew this scent. "I have a few bits to spare. I guess I could take a quick detour to Babs's Bakery."

Clockwork quickly turned around the corner and made a mad dash in the direction of the bakery. His mouth began to water as the sweet scent in the air became stronger and stronger. His stomach was growling like a lion by the time he stepped through the front door of the bakery. Babs's Bakery was practically empty aside from Babs Seed herself, a pegasus mare employee, and a few early bird customers. "Morning, sir," said Babs Seed, who was currently working the cash register. "What can I get for you?"

"A nice apple cinnamon roll would do nicely," Clockwork replied as he placed a few bits on the counter. Babs took the bits and dropped them into the cash register.

"Luna! One apple cinnamon roll!" A nearby pegasus mare, who was currently cleaning an empty table, turned to Babs and nodded as she made her way into the kitchen. As she walked, Clockwork noticed that one of her wings appeared to be constructed out of metal. "You look familiar."

Clockwork turned back to Babs and politely cleared his throat. "I probably do. I've been in here a few times before." Clockwork extended a hoof across the counter and Babs shook it. "I'm Clockwork. I'm the teacher for the Red Oak Schoolhouse."

"Oh yeah! I know ya! I've heard a lot about you from those students of yours that come in here."

"I hope they say nice things when they're here," Clockwork said with a chuckle.

"Don't worry. They do. They say you're the greatest teacher in Equestria and all that usual shit," Babs replied.

"I try to be." A few seconds of silence fell between them. "Do you, by any chance, have a cousin by the name of Applejack?"

"Yeah. How'd you know that?"

"Our apartments are on the same floor in the same apartment building. We pass by each other occasionally. I've heard her mention you before to her...husband?"

"Boyfriend. They haven't made it official but they're already fucking each other's brains out so they might as well go and make it official."

Clockwork chuckled at Babs's comment. "Yeah, well, you know. Ponies aren't very keen on making strong connections like that in these times."

"You could say that again."

Just then, the pegasus mare from earlier appeared on the other side of the counter with a white bag dangling from her muzzle. "One apple cinnamon roll!" she said with a grin as she placed the bag on the counter.

"Thank you...Luna," said Clockwork as he took the bag. At first, the mare acted a bit surprised that Clockwork knew her name but she quickly realized that he had heard Babs call her that earlier. "You aren't by any chance named after Princess Luna, are you?"

"I am. My mother said I was born on a starry night like no other. My full name's Luna Ray," the mare replied.

"Well it's a lovely name. It was a pleasure to meet you, Luna Ray."

"Same here...uh-"

"Clockwork."

"Oh. Nice to meet you too, Clockwork."

Clockwork nodded at Babs and Luna, took the white bag in his mouth, and trotted out of the bakery.

He arrived at his schoolhouse a few minutes later. Clockwork loved his schoolhouse. It was probably the only thing in Manehattan that Clockwork still saw as being beautiful. It was a simple schoolhouse with red panelling, a dark red roof, and a brick chimney that rose above the top of the building. The schoolhouse came complete with a lovely pair of oak entrance doors and a series of clean windows. "I'm glad the world hasn't managed to screw you up yet," Clockwork said under his breath as he unlocked the entrance doors and entered the schoolhouse.

Clockwork walked over to his desk, sat down, and began munching on his apple cinnamon roll as he went back to look over the quizes from the day before. Just as Clockwork finished looking over Dark Shade's quiz again, there was a series of quick knocks at the door. "That's odd. School doesn't start for another half-hour," Clockwork said to himself as he stood up and carefully approached the door. Clockwork quickly reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a defensive knife. He had heard many stories of teachers getting beaten up by thugs and/or rebellious teenage muggers. He wasn't planning on being added to the list; especially with today's shitty medical care. However, Clockwork could sense that his unexpected visitor was a child due to the soft knocks emanating from the door. Clockwork came to a stop in front of the door, reached his hoof forward, grabbed and turned the knob, and opened the door.

Ivy was surprised to see Mr. Clockwork greeting her at the entrance to the schoolhouse with a knife in his hoof. Ivy jumped a bit in response. "Ivy?" asked Mr. Clockwork as he lowered the knife. Ivy nodded as Mr. Clockwork let out a relieved sigh. "Thank Equestria. I thought you were...nevermind."

"Can I come in?" Ivy asked.

"Sure! Sure. Come on in." Mr. Clockwork stepped aside and allowed Ivy to enter the schoolhouse.

Ivy walked over to her usual desk in the back of the room while Mr. Clockwork closed the front doors. "You're here a bit early," said Mr. Clockwork before walking back to his desk. Ivy looked towards her teacher and nodded. She expected him to question her further but he surprisingly didn't. "Well, go ahead and do whatever it is that you need to do until the others arrive."

Normally, Ivy would have reached into her bag and begun reading one of the books she usually carried around in it. But today was different. "Mr. Clockwork, can I ask you something?" Ivy asked.

"Certainly," Mr. Clockwork replied as he finished making a neat stack of papers. "That's what I'm here for."

"Can you tell me...about the infected?"

Mr. Clockwork was silent for a moment. He was obviously surprised a bit by Ivy asking him such a question. Ivy knew that the topic of the spores and the infected wasn't normal discussion for a pony around her age but that didn't stop her from wanting to know more. All ponies knew about the infected until they reached the appropriate age was that they were monsters. Stay away from them, don't get bitten, don't inhale the spores, and you'll come out somewhat okay in life. "That's not really a topic to discuss with somepony around your age."

"I know, Mr. Clockwork, but I want to know. It's stupid how us younger ponies aren't given the details behind the infected. We need to be prepared. Everypony of all ages should know about what's out there."

Mr. Clockwork fell silent once again. A small smile appeared on his face that Ivy deduced was brought upon by either amusement or respect. Ivy watched as her teacher stood up from his desk, walked over to her, and sat down in the seat across from hers. "You're a very smart and mature filly, Ivy, so I guess I can explain the infected to you. What do you want to know?"

"I don't need to ask you about how one becomes infected, which is brought upon by either breathing in the spores or getting bitten by another infected pony. But, I guess my first question is: what exactly are the spores?" Ivy asked.

"Not much is known about where they came from. Some scientists believe that the spores are mutated toxins released by a certain foreign species of mushrooms that were smuggled into the country from a distant land. But, obviously, nopony has really been able to determine what they are, how they came to be, or how to get rid of them."

"Do the spores affect everypony?" Ivy unintentionally began rubbing the red bruise on her leg. "Is it possible for anypony to be immune to them?"

"As far as everypony's concerned, nopony is immune. Anypony can get infected." Mr. Clockwork chuckled a bit. "If somepony turned out to be immune...that pony would probably hold the future to ponykind within their very blood."

Ivy gulped a bit upon hearing Mr. Clockwork's words. "I've heard some ponies talking about different kinds of infected. What exactly does that mean?"

"Well, there's different stages in the infection process. The spores also react to the body in different ways depending on how they're brought into the body. If a pony is infected by a bite, they turn within two days. Those first two days are the first stage of infection. Ponies in the first stage are called Fresh. Once the two days are up, the infection finally begins to take over. During this second stage, an infected pony slowly loses control over his or her body. For a period of two weeks, the pony slowly loses control. Their minds begin to warp and they lose control over parts of their body from their arms to their legs and even their bladders. It's a truly painful experience for the pony. Ponies in the second stage are known as Groaners because they are constantly groaning, crying, and/or shaking in pain. They don't attack as much as ponies in the later stages but they are easily the most unpredictable of the infected as it's impossible to determine whether they're going to attack or ignore you. The third stage then kicks in. Ponies in the third stage are called Rabids because it's here where they become totally insane killing machines. They act purely on animal instincts and hunt in packs. It's also here where fungus begins to cover the body and blood begins to leak out. Ponies are usually in the third stage anywhere from six months to three years. Then the fourth stage kicks in. Ponies in the fourth stage are known as Clickers because they have become blind due to plumes of fungus growing out of their eyes. They hunt in small packs and have super sensitive hearing. They find their way around with echo location. Their entire bodies begin to slowly get consumed by the fungus. A pony is usually in the fourth stage for anywhere from one to two and a half years. Finally, the fifth and final stage kicks in. Ponies in the fifth stage are called Blobs. The fungus has completely consumed the entire body of the pony and they are now officially dead. In the fifth stage, the infected pony's body has been turned into a massive...well...blob of fungus and bodily organs. A Blob is stationary but it is still dangerous because it emits loads and loads of new spores into the air. After about six months to a year, a Blob will ultimately either explode violently or collapse in on itself. It's truly a sad ending for a pony."

Ivy was silent for a moment. "So what happens to a pony that inhales the spores?"

"Inhaling spores is actually much more dangerous than getting bitten. Somepony who inhales a spore becomes a Rabid within one to five hours. Then they move on to the other stages and that's that."

Ivy fell silent again. She was a bit disturbed by the details. "Have...have you ever seen somepony become infected, Mr. Clockwork?"

Mr. Clockwork looked down. His face became much darker and sadder. "Yes...I have." Just then, there was another series of knocks at the front doors.

"Mr. Clockwork?! Are you here?" asked a series of young voices.

"It looks like the other students have arrived," said Mr. Clockwork as he stood up and walked over to the doors. He opened the doors and a group of fourteen colts and fillies entered the schoolhouse.

"Good morning, Mr. Clockwork!" chirped a few of the students. Mr. Clockwork chuckled at Ivy's fellow students while Ivy began to reach into her bag for a book.

"Good morning to you too! I must say that I'm impressed. Everypony's here so bright and early!" Mr. Clockwork was about to close the doors when somepony stopped him.

"Are you Clockwork?" asked a controlling voice. Ivy's ears shot up and her eyes widened as she turned towards the front doors. A small group of five stallions was standing outside the door. They were wearing black suits and shades over their eyes. Despite the disguises, Ivy knew who these ponies were and she knew what they wanted.

"That I am," replied Mr. Clockwork as he blocked the ponies' entry into the schoolhouse. "Might I ask what you good gentlecolts need?"

"You don't need to know who we are," replied the leader of the group. He was a muscular and burly stallion with a black mane, black coat, and baseball club cutie mark. "All you need to know that you and your students are in grave danger unless you do what we say."

Mr. Clockwork didn't budge an inch. "And what exactly is putting my class and I in grave danger?"

"You have an infected pony among your ranks." Everypony in the room heard this and gasped loudly. The leader of the group pushed his way past Mr. Clockwork and walked into the room. He scoped out the room with his shaded eyes. Ivy quickly pulled her bag onto the desk and hid her face behind it.

"Excuse me," said Mr. Clockwork as he stepped in front of the leader. "I've checked every single pony that's walked into this room and none of them are infected. Believe me. I've seen the signs of an infected pony and none of my students have them."

"Yes, well, you see, Clockwork, my group and I are not looking for an ordinary infected pony."

"Oh? And what makes this infected pony so special?"

"She was bitten over three weeks ago and has yet to turn."

Ivy jumped a bit and lost her grip on her bag. Her bag fell off her desk and hit the floor with a loud clang. Everypony in the schoolhouse turned towards her. A cold smile appeared on the leader's face. "That's her!" cried one of the stallions in the group. Ivy recognized the stallion as the one she had seen the day she had gone out into the danger zone. He was a weaselly stallion with a dark brown mane, dark brown coat, and cigarette cutie mark. The leader shoved Mr. Clockwork aside and began walking towards Ivy. Ivy's heart jumped as she stood up, grabbed her bag, and began walking towards the back of the room.

"Come here, little filly," chuckled the leader as he approached Ivy. "There is much work to be done."

"Get away from me!" Ivy cried as she bumped into the back wall.

"Do what she says," ordered Mr. Clockwork. The leader stopped and turned towards Ivy's teacher. Mr. Clockwork reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a fairly big knife. "Step away from my student."

"You dare threaten me?" cackled the leader as he pulled out two knives.

"Yes, I dare."

"You're going to risk your life to save the life of an infected filly?"

"What proof is there that she was infected?"

"I saw it happen!" screeched the stallion that Ivy recognized.

"Personally, I don't find that as really reliable proof," Mr. Clockwork snapped back. "I know what you ponies are: you're government thugs."

"We're only doing our job," chuckled the leader.

"You think you've won? I may look like an ordinary teacher but I've seen and done shit in my life that would turn your black coat white. I wouldn't fuck with me, if I were you." The leader charged for Mr. Clockwork and swung his knives like a madpony. Ivy's classmates screamed and jumped under their desks. Mr. Clockwork remained calm and stationary until the leader was right in front of him. Ivy watched in amazement as Mr. Clockwork dodged the leader's attacks, flew under him, and jabbed his hooves at several precise locations on the leader's back. The leader groaned with pain as he fell to the floor, unable to move. The other four stallions in the group ran towards Mr. Clockwork to help their leader. Mr. Clockwork lunged for them. He kicked two straight in the jaw with his hind legs and knocked them out, stabbed one in the leg and kicked him in the face, and took out another with a series of precise jabs which resulted in him falling unconscious. Ivy and her classmates were stunned by the sight of their teacher standing amongst a group of injured stallions. "And that, class, is how to deal with criminals. I think you should all go home for today."

Everypony in the class nodded in unison before rushing through the front doors. In a few seconds, Ivy was once again alone in the room with Mr. Clockwork. "Mr. Clockwork?" asked a shaken Ivy. Mr. Clockwork approached Ivy and placed a hoof on her shoulder.

"Go home, Ivy," he said. "You're safe now." Ivy nodded and made her way towards the door. "Ivy?"

Ivy stopped and turned back towards Mr. Clockwork. "Yes?" she asked.

Mr. Clockwork was about to ask her something but he ended up shaking his head. "Nevermind." Ivy had a feeling that she knew what Mr. Clockwork had wanted to ask her.

"What are you going to do about them?"

Mr. Clockwork looked at the thugs, at his knife, and then at Ivy. "I'm going to make sure that they don't come after you again. You run along home now." Ivy nodded and walked through the doorway.

She kept walking until she was out of Mr. Clockwork's view before she quickly turned around and hid along one of the exterior walls of the schoolhouse. She peered in through one of the windows to see Mr. Clockwork walk over to the leader. Mr. Clockwork then raised the knife into the air and brought it down on the leader's neck. Ivy watched as Mr. Clockwork proceeded to slice the necks of the other four stallions with his knife. The floor of the schoolhouse began to get covered in a lake of red. It was around this point that Ivy finally backed away and began making her way back to the orphanage.

Applejack decided to make a quick trip to Babs's Bakery on her way to work. She was surprised to find the bakery filled with at least fourteen colts and fillies when she arrived. Applejack didn't pay much attention to what they were talking about as she passed by but she could tell that it was something big for them. "Hello, ma'am," said a pegasus mare standing at the register. "What will it be?"

"Nothing really. I'm just here to visit my cousin," Applejack replied.

A look of realization appeared on the mare's face. "I'm guessing you're Applejack!"

"Yep! I'm guessing Babs has told you about me."

"Yes. Good things, of course."

"Is she here, by any chance?"

"Yes! Let me get her!" The mare then quickly disappeared into the kitchen.

As Applejack waited, she found herself listening in to the conversations of the colts and fillies sitting in the bakery. "Mr. Clockwork is so awesome! He totally kicked those guys' butts!" laughed a unicorn colt with enthusiastic excitement.

"I know!" replied an earth pony filly. "I'm never going to cross him again!"

Applejack found herself smiling a bit at the excited children, but she also found herself a bit interested in what they were saying. They were talking about a certain Mr. Clockwork. Applejack thought back to earlier that morning when that neighbor of hers had greeted her in the hallway. His name was Clockwork.

"Cuz!" exclaimed a familiar voice. Applejack turned around to see Babs Seed approaching her. Applejack smiled as she gave her cousin a loving hug. "How have you been?"

"Good. You?" Applejack replied.

"Alright. Haven't had much business these last couple days due to the rain but I think everything's starting to pick up." Applejack and Babs looked around at the group of kids munching on a variety of sweets.

"Say, Babs. Do you happen to know a stallion named Clockwork?"

"Of course. I hear a lot about him from his students."

"He's a teacher?"

"Yeah. Teaches over at the Red Oak Schoolhouse. In fact, he dropped by earlier for an apple cinnamon roll. He asked me about you."

"Me? Why did he ask about me?"

"No particular reason. He was just confirming that you and I were related."

Applejack chuckled a bit. "It seems he's putting a lot more effort into knowing about me than I have into knowing about him," she said.

"Then why not try to get to know him? He seems like a nice guy and, according to these kids, he also kicks some major ass," said Babs.

"I don't know. Vick might get jealous if I try to befriend another guy."

Babs rolled her eyes, leaned in closer to Applejack, and brought her voice down to a whisper. "It's not like you're aiming to fuck the guy, right? What's wrong with making a new friend? Besides, Vick knows how much you care about him and he certainly cares a lot about you. If he starts to get jealous then suck his cock to prove him wrong."

Applejack couldn't help but smile. "Yeah...thanks for the advice, Babs."

"No problem."

Applejack began to make her way back towards the door of the shop. "I'll see ya later then."

"You better start visiting me more often, AJ! Believe it or not, I actually like to have company aside from the usual assholes that come in here," Babs stated.

"It's a promise," Applejack replied with a chuckle as she made her way out of the shop.

Luna gave out a loud sigh as she finished organizing the last bags of sweets and food ingredients. She was pleased that Babs's Bakery was starting to have more business. The last few days had been pretty dull. Luna let out a yawn as she decided now was a good time to take a well deserved break. She stretched her legs and her wings. Luna found herself looking at her metal wing as it stretched out and then came back in. It moved perfectly like a normal wing, but that was about it. It couldn't help her fly and she couldn't feel it. Luna grew angry as she looked at the wing. Horrible memories began to flood back into her mind: the ambush, the deal, her sister, the lab, the experiment, the betrayal, and...the loss. Luna desperately wanted to rip the metal wing off and crush it to bits on the ground...but she didn't want to go through the pain. She had already suffered enough physical and emotional pain. She didn't want to suffer anymore.

"You already finished?" asked Babs as she entered the back area. Luna turned to her friend and nodded. Babs gave a concerned look and placed a hoof on Luna's shoulder. "Something wrong?"

"Nah," Luna replied. "Just thinking about old memories."

"I'm guessing they're not happy ones."

Luna lowered her head and sighed. "No. They're not." Luna then slowly made her way towards the lounging room to take a quick rest. Sleep always helped wash the memories away. That's what she needed right now: for them to simply wash away.