Rabid Equestria: A Mare's Journey

Rabid Equestria: A Mare's Journey

CHAPTER 2.

FOR ALL THE RIGHT REASONS

It was written that in old times,

Ponies with a viral infection were put away from the others,

To prevent the disease from spreading.

Pity that’s beyond impossible now…

I looked up at the massive gate to Complex Five, a lump forming in my throat. My home… the only one I’d had to go to. The place I’d felt safe, and secure… now gone. I looked next to me at Crabs. She was too eyeing the gate. With a light sigh, I turned back to look once more at my home, the bodies of my friends, the two mares gathering them up. If there were more survivors… the twins would find them.

I turned back to the gate, eyeing the grainy ground outside. “Crabs… I.. let’s go.” She merely gave the smallest of nods, getting behind me. With a deep breath, I took three steps forward, then jumped out into the foreign terrain.

My first thought was immediately “OH CELESTIA IT’S EATING ME!” The odd terrain melted under my hooves, making me sink slightly as I screamed in terror. This was nothing like concrete! Nothing! I quickly yanked my hooves up and took to the air, hovering a few inches off the ground. Next to me, Crabs trotted up, laughing loudly.

“Fo’ Celestia’s sake! It’s onl’ sand!” She cackled, grinning at me as she moved past, leaving her deep hoof prints in the ground. I glared at the back of her head. Hopefully I could burn a hole in it. Serve her right… With a small wince, I carefully touched back down to the ground. Once more, the odd grainy terrain sunk under my hooves and I shivered uncomfortably. Was it REALLY necessary to have to walk on this stuff? I’d have preferred flying. With a loud, aggravated sigh, I followed after Crabs. We moved along in silence, looking around at the barren landscape. Desert, cacti, mountains… Crabs gave a loud snort of discomfort and I glanced at her.

“You aight, Crabs?” I asked, concern in my voice.

She merely nodded, growling. “Just fine….” She mumbled, stopping to dig at her hooves. Several grains of sands fell out and I remembered: Crabs couldn’t stand having anything in her hooves.

“C’mon Crabs… there’ll be a town or something up ahead… I see… trees?” I frowned, narrowing my eyes as I saw several shades of green in the distance. Crabs turned, digging through her saddlebag before pulling a pair of binoculars.

“… Yah, Tha’ trees aight.” She mumbled. I quickly snatched the binoculars and looked through myself. It was a forest! The kind I’d read about in books. With a light smile, I patted her back.

“Let’s go. We can be there before sundown.” She nodded and followed after me, humming softly. “… Get out the CB you brought along, maybe we can contact for help.”

Her eyes lit up and she turned again, pulling out the small radio she’d taken. Checking it over, she pressed her hoof to the small button on the side, a click sounding as it turned on. Static greeted us and she frowned, swiveling it.

“….. And that’s how you effectively deal with an infected loved one.” A mare’s voice rang out and we jumped, stopping in our tracks and staring at the radio. “In other news, we’ve had reports of Wanderers heading out to the Everfree Desert. This can be backed up by several eyewitness reports from Echo Station Seven. So.. if you’re going to Manehatten, I heavily suggest you screw Everfree, and find a better way.” The voice snickered as we both sat down, enthralled. We were hearing… a voice! Not one from the Complex! An actual voice that proved to us there WAS life outside the fortress! “And finally, Captain Gasleak is asking anypony wishing to use his boat to NOT bring along explosives. He doesn’t trust you, he never will, so please obey his wishes.” The mare’s voice sighed. “Today’s news was brought to you by our good friend, Tactical Weaponry. I know, an odd name for a colt, right? WRONG! He’ll supply you with any gun you need, any ammo, any time! This is Drifty Breeze, signing off.”

The radio went silent, yet there Crabs and I sat, too stunned to speak. There were ponies nearby… ponies that could help us! My eyes went to Crabs, and we shared a smile of relief. “Alright Crabs… let’s go. We got a town to find!”

She grinned, jumping to her hooves and tucking the radio back into the bag. As I turned, my eyes fell upon a small building in the distance. A flag flew above it, and I vaguely recognized it as the old Royal Flag of Equestria. “’Ey! Maybe there’s somepony there that could help us!” I cried out, rushing off in the direction of the building. My hooves kicked up sand as I ran, and I could hear Crabs running behind me, panting loudly.

As I reached the building, I stopped to put my hooves to my chest. I hadn’t run that fast in… forever. Oh Celestia, how I hurt now! I coughed, trying to catch my breath as Crabs arrived next to me, doubling over and vomiting on the ground. I winced, reaching over and gently rubbing her back, my throat burning from the exhaustion. After a few minutes, I regained normality and I coughed.

“This place looks deserted…” Crabs mumbled, massaging her throat and chin. I glanced at her.

“Maybe, but there ain’t no point in tryin’.” With those words, I crept up to the door and examined it. REA was engraved into the door, making me frown. “REA…?” Shaking my head, I knocked once.

An intercom next to the door suddenly crackled, a colt’s voice ringing out.

“WHOEVER YOU ARE, BACK THE FUCK OFF! I HAVE WEAPONS!” His words cut through to me and I cringed. Taking a step back, I cleared my throat.

“W-we’re in need of h-help! Our home got overrun…!”

The intercom crackled for a moment, before going silent. I winced, looking to Crabs.

“BULLSHIT! STEP AWAY FROM THE DOOR, AND LEAVE!”

I growled slightly. “Look, we need help, open up!”

“… Are any of you bitten?”

I shook my head quickly. “N-no! We’re not bitten!” The intercom crackled again, then cut out. A loud whirr came from the door before it slowly creaked open, sliding into the wall. Giving Crabs a nervous grin, I stepped inside. The inside of the building was… beyond filthy. Papers scattered the floor, with blood stains on the walls. Several bullet holes were indented in there, and I could only assume ponies had been executed in here. My eyes wettened and I shook my head, looking down as I ventured further inside. Behind me, I heard Crabs give a loud gasp of shock. Turning back, I waited for her to catch up before taking her hoof.

“We’ll be aight Crabs..” I whispered, giving her cheek the gentlest of nuzzles. She winced, looking around at the room again. Behind us, a door slid open, making us whip around with our guns aimed. There… we found ourselves face-to-face with… a colt. His dark green mane was striped with darkened, dried blood. His coat was black, though I quickly figured out that couldn’t be his natural color, there were too many different shaded areas. He glared at us, his horn glowing and holding a rifle, which was pointed at us.

“… Were there any others with you?” He asked with a small growl. Crabs and I quickly shook our heads. He gazed at us for the longest time, taking in my bloody coat, Crabs’ unique looks and our weaponry. Finally, he lowered the gun. “Welcome to Royal Equestrian Airforce Base Thirteen.”

We stared at him. Royal Equestrian Airforce…?

“… What’s your name?” I asked, lowering my own weapon.

He gave me a quick, sharp look. “Not important, for the time being. Did you see any Wanderers?”

Again, Crabs and I shook our heads. He relaxed slightly. “Good… follow me.” Turning away, he stepped through the door and down a hallway. Crabs turned to me, looking uneasy.

“Do we follow ‘im..?”

All I did was nod, following through the door and trotting down the hall after the colt. Crabs gave a rather annoyed sigh and came up behind me, both of us jumping as the door slid closed. Both of us looking back at it, we stepped up our pace. The mysterious colt kept leading us down the hall until we came to a delicate looking door.

He quickly looked as both, thinking. “Do you both promise to behave? Just know if either of you tries ANYTHING, the security system is ready to shoot you both down.”

We winced and nodded, Crabs giving a whispered ‘yes’. He smirked, pressing his hoof to a pad on the wall. A red laser shown out, scanning his hoof before beeping. The light above the door suddenly flashed to green and the door opened, this time sinking into the ground. Crabs and I peered in as the colt walked through and gasped.

Machinery. Machinery everywhere. There were computer terminals lined up along the walls, huge vats of liquid in the center of the room, and several work desks. As I looked around, I noticed that… the colt was the only one in the room.

“Uh… where is everypony?” I asked, giving him a suspicious look. Maybe he was the one that had caused the destruction in the first room.

He stopped, slowly turning to me. “… Gone, or dead. Either, take your pick.” As we gazed at him, he sighed. “This was a medical research station for the virus that plagued us. It had apparently been abandoned for one hundred and fifty years before my team and I arrived.”

“Your… team?”

He nodded, sighing. “Five unicorns, five pegasi, and three Earth ponies.” He turned, linking his hoof around a rolling chair and pulling it towards him. Jumping up, he settled down in it, tucking his legs under his body. “We were on our way to Manehatten, when we stumbled across this station. One of the Pegasi had heard of it and told us what it was, what its function had been. So naturally, we came inside. And… there were Wanderers in here. Several of them. They took our three Earth ponies from us, then managed to get two unicorns before the Pegasi put them down.”

I cringed slightly, watching him. “So.. what happened in the first room?”

He sighed sadly, reaching up and brushing his forehead with a hoof. “The rest of them… well.. several of the Pegasi were depressed that we’d lost five of our own. The unicorns themselves… they… ‘took the fast way out’.”

Next to be, Crabs gasped, before starting to quietly weep. However, I kept my eyes on the colt. “What about the Pegasi?”

“After the unicorns took their way out, the Pegasi had had enough. They got their stuff, looted the bodies and took off, leaving me behind.”

I stared at him, shocked. “And.. how long have you been here?”

“One year, two months, and sixteen days.”

That made me cringe.. no pony should be alone THAT long. “What made you stay?”

He opened his mouth to reply, then frowned, shutting it. He rubbed his chin, before giving a soft nicker of sadness. “I had nopony to travel with. I would’ve died.”

I nodded slightly, reaching over and taking his hoof. “Y’wanna travel with us? We’re looking for a town to get supplies in, and settle down.”

He shrugged wearily. “Only town I know of close by is past the forest… and that’s a damn death trap.”

“How so?”

Finally, he smirked. “Well, let’s see. It’s full of Wanderers. They can be hiding anywhere, ready to jump out and take a chunk from your leg. And even before the Wanderers, there were already monsters in there. Manticores, hydras…”

I frowned. “Manticores… hydras…?”

“Egh… did you live under a rock or something?”

That remark forced me to wince. Opening my mouth, I started telling him my story. How I’d lived in Complex Five my whole life, how I’d been a guard. That I’d had my family and friends there for me. How the horde had come and overrun my home, killing all my friends and family.

I turned, nudging Crabs, who was still quietly weeping. “Crabs is all I got left…”

The colt nodded, rubbing his chin again. We three sat in silence for a few moments, before he spoke up. “Alright. I’ll travel with you… let me get my stuff.”

My eyes widened in surprise as he jumped down and moved to a door in the back. Once more, he did the hoof scan and went through it. A light smile crossed my face as I got off my own chair. Turning away, I started examining the machinery. Several of them were marked “Auxiliary power”, and every one was flipped to the ‘on’ position. Best not mess with those.. I shifted away and found myself at a desk. Seeing a framed picture, I frowned, gently picking it up so it wouldn’t break. It was… not too recent. It had yellowed around the edges. Examining it, I saw in the very middle, the strange colt. He was surrounded by five pegasi and unicorns, and the three Earth ponies. The unicorns were all circled, with writing under them. Leaning forward, I peered at the small letters.

“Rest in peace my friends… wherever you are now is better than here.”

I let out a sad sigh, looking at the faces of the ponies. They all looked so… nice. So well-groomed. They were smiling at the camera, the Earth ponies even waving. The colt himself had a grin going. I found myself smiling back. It was just like back home… surrounded by friends you could count on.

Suddenly, my throat seized up as I gazed at the picture. My friends had died… his had too. And he’d been here for over a year! Alone! Thoughts began to fill my mind, making me wince as I thought Silver, Dell… my parents… and Daffodil. Daff’s face floated to the front of my mind and I winced, my eyes wettening up once more. It… it wasn’t fair! She’d been young! Everypony had! And now.. they had no chance at life! A single tear fell to the ground as I placed the picture down. I couldn’t stop thinking of my friends.. all the great times we’d had. My parents… I could no longer feel my dad’s warm arms around me as he hugged me. My mom’s snout pressed against my cheek as she nuzzled me, telling her I’d always be her silly filly. Silver’s laugh as I told her a joke about some mare down in the lower levels. Dell’s certain look she had as she checked out a colt, and her vulgar suggestions of what she’d love to do to him. And… Daffodil’s gentle embrace as we sat in her room, discussing the day’s events. These were all memories and feelings I’d never be able to experience again. Ever. My legs slowly buckled as I fell to the floor, sobbing. I cried for my parents, my friends. My lost home, and the new life I was forced to have. I heard a door near me slide open, but I didn’t care. I buried my face into my hooves, wailing out as I cursed the Goddesses. Why had they done this?! They could have stopped the plague! My vision started to cloud as I wept and screamed. “F-FUCKING FUCK!” I cried out, feeling somepony’s hooves around me before slipping into unconsciousness.

I’m not sure what the time was. Hell… I’m not sure where I even was. I felt a soft mattress under me.. and my body ached. Stretching slightly, I winced. Near me, something moved.

“Lay still. You’ll feel better in a moment.”

The colt’s voice shot through my brain and I opened my eyes. I was in a bedroom. The walls were adorned with all sorts of posters, mainly ones about… Wonderbolts? What was a Wonderbolt? Probably some sort of battery…

“Listen to me. Stay still.” His voice came through, sharper than it just was. I groaned, my throat vibrating as I buried my muzzle into the mass of blankets near me.

“You’ve been out for the past six hours… you must have been tired.”

No shit. I stretched my wings out and whimpered, feeling soon coming back to my body. “Wh.. what happened…”

“You tell me. I left to get my stuff and when I came back out, you were crying and screaming. That other mare was cuddling you and trying to get you to calm down, but you passed out instead.”

I felt myself wince as my ears folded. I remembered now… what I’d been crying for. A hoof went around me, and I looked over as the colt hugged me. I presses my muzzle into his chest and started to once again quietly weep, my tears soaking into his black coat. He smelled so… odd. Like blood and oil. Pulling away, I wiped my eyes. “T-those fucking… t-things… t-they’ll… I-I’ll kill them all!” I screamed, shoving him. I got to my hooves and growled. “I’LL KILL THEM ALL!”

As I jumped down, I suddenly felt something push into my side with a sharp pain. My eyes widened and I cringed as I looked over. The colt was pulling a syringe from my side and he gave me a somber look. “You need to rest, and calm down.”

Growling, I tried to step towards him, but collapsed onto my face as my vision cut out and the world went black.

“Ugh…” I groaned. My mane was moving and a quiet drone filled my ears. Wincing again, I sat up. The room was dark, the only light coming in through the door’s window. Groaning louder, I struggled from my blanket constraints and stumbled to the door. “Looocked…” I gasped out, fiddling with the knob. As my hoof passed over it, I felt a small… button? With a small shake of my mane, I pushed it. The door immediately clicked and swung open, which made me smile in relief. “Good… not stuck in this fuckin’ room…” I mumbled, staggering out. Whatever the colt injected me with must not have fully worn off, as I was having a hell of a time trying to move down the hall. Hearing voices coming from a nearby room, I limped to it and peered in. Crabs was there, sitting with the colt and reading a magazine.

As I moved in, Crabs looked up. “Oh Triggah! Yer alive!” She cried out, rushing up to me. All the time in the world couldn’t have braced me for the tackle that occurred as she plowed into me, sending me stumbling to the floor. Her hooves went around my body in a tight embrace as she nuzzled me, making me squeak out shrilly.

The colt came up, smirking. “You look better.”

“I-I b-bet! G-get her off!”

Crabs giggled, licking my cheek as she got off me and stepped to the side. Fuck… I think she broke a rib. Rubbing my side, I sat up and glanced at the colt. “What’d you do to me?”

“Gave you a sedative. You looked ready to murder everything in your sight, then murder it again.”

I snorted. “Is that how you stayed sane all these years? Waiting to sedate some crazy mare?”

He glared at me, trying to think of a retort, but ultimately gave up. “No… I did it… to… egh.” He threw his hooves in the air and turned, storming into another room. I snickered as I watched the door slam shut. Slowly, the feeling rose in my chest and I started to laugh, falling to the floor. Crabs watched me with a slightly worried expression as I rolled about, laughing like a fucking hyena high on Equeshrooms.

About an hour later, the three of us were gathered in the entrance room. The colt had some weird harness strapped around his middle. Upon questioning what it was, he had just ignored me and grabbed his rifle.

“Alright… are we ready?” I asked. Crabs and the colt nodded, before I glanced at him. “First… tell me what your name is.”

He gave me the darkest of looks before opening his mouth. “It’s… Toast. Just Toast.”

Crabs and I both stared at him. “T… Toast?” Crabs asked, snickering. I too felt a smile come to my face as he glared at us. “L-les’ ‘ope we don’ get hungry! Or we m-may ‘ave to eat the Toast!”

His eyes narrowed, when he suddenly smirked. “And let’s hope that with as long as I’m near you, that I don’t get Crabs.”

Her face went still as she growled at him. “Don’ make fun o’ my name.”

“Meh. What goes around comes around.” He said with a cackle. Moving to the door, he pressed his hoof tightly into the scanning mechanism. It went off with a beep and the door slid open, to show the face of a Wanderer.

We screamed as it growled, lunging onto Toast. His hoof swung up, knocking into the dead colt’s jaw, knocking it to the side with a sickening CRUNCH. It slowly got back to its hooves, its jaw hanging freely as it lunged again. Toast quickly swung his rifle up, plunging the cold barrel of his gun into the monster’s throat.

“Taste the power, bitch!” He screamed, pulling the trigger. It clicked once… and nothing happened.

He blinked, before an expression of pure terror formed on his face. I saw the look, and… something welled up inside me. Was it fear? Anger? Whatever it was, it had me catapulting over Crabs, going into a barrel roll as I plowed into the side of the monster, knocking it off its hooves. As it got to its hooves, growling lowly, my hoof snapped into my old saddlebag, whipping out the 9mm I’d stuck in there. Raising the gun, it launched itself at me as I quickly fired off the entire clip in rapid succession. The beast’s head snapped back, then dropped as the bullets completely severed its muscle, shredding the tissue and bone. The body fell to the ground and staggered at me, before collapsing to the ground in a bloody heap.

Toast sat there, panting heavily as he stared at the body. “.. That.. fucking thing almost killed me!” He screamed out, getting to his hooves. I blinked in mild surprise as he pulled a knife.

“What are you..?” I was cut off as he suddenly sliced off an ear from the decapitated head. My eyes widened in shock as he pocketed the flesh, smiled, then turned and moved out the door. Crabs and I exchanged nervous looks, before moving out after him.

From the lighting, I could instantly tell it was around mid-afternoon. Crabs shuffled along behind me as we followed the colt in silence, our hooves leaving deep imprints in the ground. Anything that was following us, would have an easy time figuring out where we went. However… that didn’t matter at the moment. What did matter, was trying to find the town from which the broadcast had come. My eyes widened as the thought occurred to me. Moving back to Crabs, I dug into her saddlebag and pulled the radio out. My hooves skimmed over the knobs as I turned it on. The mare’s voice once again floated out.

“… Which is why I never carry pencils with me anymore.” The mare giggled. “In other news… traders are reporting that Stalliongrad has… well, been deserted. There’s nopony there at all! Several buildings were found looted, some bodies were found, but other than that… nothing. So, if you’re from Stalliongrad, and hearing this, please report in.” There came the sound of papers shuffling, followed by a sigh. “And on a last note, the Iron Raiders have been seen approaching Mareietta. My listeners, I heavily advise you to hide your iron, metals, children, wives, EVERYTHING. Just pretend you died! That way, we won’t have a repeat of the Steelhoof incident.” Crabs and I frowned at each other. “Now, coming back from the days of old, here’s Whitney Gears with her most famous song ‘Oops, I hit him again.’.”

An odd song started to play, but Crabs and I weren’t paying too much attention. We came up alongside Toast.

“What was the Steelhoof incident? And what are the Iron Raiders?”

Toast glanced at us, then turned his gaze back to the approaching forest. “Raiders. What else?”

Crabs frowned. “Raydurrs….?” She asked, confusion in her voice.

“Yes, raiders. They’re probably the worst kind out here too. They seek out metal to build themselves up with. They’re… well, technological geniuses, but sadly, they don’t like to play with others. They just move from town to town, stealing metal, and killing those that get in their way… well, the males at least.”

I frowned. “What… happens to the others? The children, the mares…?”

Toast shuffled his hooves slightly, and I could tell he was uncomfortable. But I had to know.

“They… well… they take the children into their group, and raise them up to be just as vicious as they are. The mares, they usually just… have their way with them, until the mares die of exhaustion.”

Crabs gasped as I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “Right… so.. avoid the Iron Raiders then.” He gave a small nod, looking up as a bird flew overhead. “Are there any other groups we should watch out for?”

“Eh… there’s the Plow Drivers, but there’s like… ten of them. And they’re not much of a problem. There are also the Steelers, but they’re all the way across Equestria, in Manechuria.” He suddenly stopped, looking back at us. “But NEVER cross the Rage Sisters.”

I gave him an odd look, my eyebrow raising. “The… Rage sisters?”

“Yeah. They’re two sisters addicted to.. like.. every drug out there. Hypnol, Amp, Penicil, Tyol. Keeps them infuriated every second of every day. I’ve heard stories about them ripping ponies apart with their bare hooves.”

A shudder went through my body as a mental image of an oversized mare ripping a pony in half crossed my mind. They were really that vicious? “Alright, well… let’s… just get to the town. Then we can decide what’s best.”

He nodded as the mare’s voice came back over the radio. “And we’re back! Did you enjoy that? Because I sure did! Old time music never gets old! Now, I’ve literally just received a report one of the colts missing from the Equestrian Orphanage, has been found. He is alive and well! Apparently, he had just wandered off to find a drink, and gotten himself lost.” She chuckled, before the sound of more papers shuffling and a colt whispering were heard. “.. Eh, what?... He… Oh. Very well.”

The mare cleared her throat. “My assistant has graciously reminded me to tell all of you that repairs will be taking place at the Ponyville Southern Barricade tomorrow afternoon. The workers are asking for ponies to come help keep the Wanderers away. You will be paid by the body count.” She chuckles. “That’s it for now. Here’s some Sweetie Belle, singing about life in the clouds!”

A new song came on, and I found myself enthralled by it. The beautiful voice that came out was nothing short of angelic, and my worries faded away as I listened to her sing. Sweetie Belle… I wonder what she’d been like. Had she been pretty? Had she been kind? Had she… been bitten and become one of the many undead wandering Equestria? I shook my head, trying to clear the thought. The song was beautiful enough, I didn’t need my thoughts wrecking it. Behind me, Crabs had already figured out the tune and was humming along.

Up ahead, the colt kept moving, his gun secured onto his back. As I looked him over, I noticed there wasn’t a strap holding it to him. It was just.. there, in place. Unicorns… Sighing, I looked up as Toast spoke.

“We’ll be to the forest in about ten minutes!” He called back to us. Crabs just kept humming, not really registering his words. I, however, kept my eyes on the forest. This close, it looked so dark.. and deadly.

After what was probably the fastest ten minutes of my life, we found ourselves at the edge of the forest. As I clicked off the radio, Toast’s horn began to glow while he peered into the dense foliage.

“I.. yeah, we’re clear for now. Both of you, stay silent, and follow me.”

I nodded, giving Crabs one of my “Oh yeah we’ll be fine!” looks as we both crept after the colt. It smelled different in the forest. Much different from the desert. In here, it smelled like rain, and many other scents I’d never even imagined before. All around us, I couldn’t help but stare at the plants. Back in Complex Five, the only plants were food. In here… they were everywhere! Leaning out, I took a bite from a blue plant with purple leaves. Oh my, it tasted amazing! It left a sweet after taste on my tongue, and I quickly snatched an entire branch and moved on, nibbling at it. We continued in silence before the group of us came to a large river. Toast looked up and down the riverbed, before frowning.

“Alright girls.. we’ll need to fashion a b-“ He cut off as he looked back and spotted me, chewing away at my plant. His eyes widened and he leaned forward towards me, cringing. “You… you are aware you’re eating poison leaves, right?”

Agony. That was me. Just pure agony. I lied on the ground, my belly facing the sky as fire raced through me, ripping at my body and setting my bones aflame. Crabs and Toast sat near me, not able to do much. Crabs hadn’t brought along medical supplies due to her forgetfulness, and Toast didn’t have any left over. He HAD been nice enough to point out he hadn’t planned on anypony being stupid enough to eat poison leaves.

I sprawled out, retching up another batch of leaves onto the ground as my head exploded in pain. I’d begged them to kill me, but fuck me, they wouldn’t do it. Toast seemed to LOVE watching me suffer. I kept throwing dirty glares his ways whenever I could manage. Soon, numbness took me over as I retched up once more and promptly passed out.

The smell of a fire greeted my nose sometime later. I sniffed once, before bolting up. FIRE! There was a fire in the Complex! I quickly went to go grab for my uniform and instead… grabbed a sleeping Crabs. I blinked once, then slowly looked around. I was in a forest. What…? Slowly, my memory came back to me as I groaned. Toast glanced up at me from near the small fire as he smirked. “Well, some pony’s finally awake.”

I glared at him, reaching around myself and pushing on my back. A cramp popped and a small dose of relief washed over me as I sighed. My insides still burned, but nowhere as bad as earlier. It was bearable. Getting up and stretching again, I made my way over to Toast and sat down next to him, rubbing my neck. He gave me a quick look-over.

“You’ll be fine.”

I glared at him, pointing to my belly. “Tell that to here.” I growled. He only snickered and turned away, watching the fire.

I turned my head and watched it too, thinking. Life in the Complex had been so much easier… and better. When all I had to do was guard. That had been simple enough, for fuck’s sake! Getting to shoot at Wanderers, listening to Radio relate how disastrous his last date had been, having a bottle of vodka… it had been good. Now… what did I have? I had a gun, some grenades, a burning stomach, and two ponies to watch out for.

Next to me, I could tell Toast was thinking about whatever had happened in his life. His eyes had a shallow look to them, and I wondered what he could possibly have seen to get so… hollow. He had only come along, because he’d been bored, was the best I could figure. My hoof snaked out and I gently planted it on his shoulder, digging into his fur. He flinched and glanced at me, before returning his gaze to the fire.

“… Toast?” He nodded. “Why did you come with us? And be honest.”

I felt him tense, his muscles hardening. “…. For all the right reasons.” He mumbled. I pressed at him about it, but he refused to say another word.

Early the next morning, I was awoken by a shove in my side.

“Wake up, we gotta get moving!” Toast whispered urgently. Next to me, Crabs groaned and rolled over, letting out a quiet snore.

“Why d’we gotta wake if we’re fahn heeere…” She mumbled irritably. I was about to share her sentiment when Toast shoved us both.

“Because Wanderers are coming! Get up! We need to cross the river!”

At THOSE specific words, I scrambled to my hooves, shaking them out. Crabs did the same, pulling her saddlebag up and her rifle out. I quickly got my own saddlebag on, getting my sniper ready as the three of us turned and faced the river.

“Trigger. Think you can fly us across? Can’t believe I didn’t think of that last night…” Toast grumbled. I nodded. “Who first?”

Toast pointed at Crabs. “Her. She’s lighter, you can be quickly.”

I nodded, quickly seizing her around the middle. My wings spread and flapped as I took off, flying across the dark, murky water below. Once on the other side, I deposited her to the ground and flew back. As I started to take Toast’s middle, a sound rang through the woods that made my mane stand on end. It was a growl.. and it was directly behind me. Looking back, a lone Wanderer was coming through the brush. It was.. a filly. Her eyes were nothing but bloody sockets. My heart cracked. I couldn’t kill that.. My wings spread as I turned to take off across the river. I heard more growling and realized that the filly’s growls must have alerted more wanderers nearby.

Behind me, I heard the small undead filly growl, before something latched onto my hind leg. With a small scream, I started kicking, trying to kick it off. Looking back, I saw that the filly had grabbed my hind leg with her teeth and was biting deeply into my flesh. Screaming harder, I dived down, smashing into the dirt wall of the opposite bank. I felt Toast jump off of me and scream to Crabs. What he said, I’m not sure. I was a bit preoccupied with smashing the filly as hard as I could against the fucking wall! Every kick I took, she only sunk her teeth deeper. From above me, Crabs appeared, aiming her rifle. A shot rang out, and I felt the filly go limp, her teeth releasing me as her body crumpled down into the waiting river below.

Gasping, I tried to haul myself up. My hoof felt like it had been shot, burned and stabbed, pain flowing through every inch and crack of it. I felt Crabs and Toast grab my hooves hauling me up as my vision blurred. Pain… so much pain. Something soft slid under me, and I vaguely noticed that I was being lifted onto some pony’s back. Then… they were moving. All I could do was watch the forest canopy above me.

After what seemed like ages, the canopy suddenly disappeared, replaced by a bright, blue sky. My ears twitched as whoever I was riding called out in a blurred, deep voice. Somepony else answered and I struggled to lift my head up and listen. However, I was greeted by a wall of gray. My ears flattened as my senses came to, and I realized I was staring at a wall, not much different from the walls of Complex Five. Looking to my side, I saw Crabs sitting, watching me. She smiled slightly, but didn’t say a word. The deep, blurred voice slowly came to focus and it was, of course, just Toast.

“Look, we’ve got an injured mare! Let us in! We won’t cause any problems!”

“Unless you PAY the fee, I can’t let ANYPONY into Ponyville!”

“I… fine!” I felt him reach back and move his hoof through his saddlebag. After a moment, he spoke. “Will these do?”

“… Yes.”

Suddenly, a loud clanking made me shiver as I managed to turn over and look. A massive gate was creaking open, sliding up on rusty gears. Toast started forward, Crabs following behind us. However, all I could notice was a huge banner just behind the door, hanging from two poles.

WELCOME TO PONYVILLE