Celestia's Guards

by IntelligentScribbles

Rating: teen
Tags: Alternate Universe, Human, Adventure
Length: 12781

Dunder Shux Studios

Selen is barely surviving on a ruined Earth. Twilight to the rescue! Involuntarily of course. Also in case you were wondering, Dunder Shux Studios is a new studio that I write for. We have a few other fan fics out there. A favorite one being The Herd by Improviser. Ponies for life!

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2012-02-21 20:21:38 UTC

Restarting the Beginning All Over Again

A/N: First off: I love ponies. Just don't tell my parents they think it means I'm gay. This is not a self insert. When I said OC I meant literally original. I have allot of fun writing these things because it gives me a chance to make my own world instead of worrying about the one I live in. Try to enjoy this please and also give critique and comments that are helpful. (No ragers or flamers pl0x) Also check out The Herd. (Link is this here: http://www.fimfiction.net/story/4917/1/The-Herd/ )That one was a self insert kinda but it was also fun to write. ONTO THE STORY!

The knife before him shone dully in the night air. It had to be almost midnight and Selen was walking towards his goal, determined to make it to the only chance of getting away from all the hostility. That was until he was mugged, but as stubborn as Selen was, he didn't allow the mugger to take his wallet or his rings.  The mugger had pulled a knife and forced Selen down to the ground. After that, Selen’s assailant rooted through his backpack, only to find nothing there.

“You want me to kill you? Is that really what you want? Because if you don't give me your cash, I'll just take it from your cold dead body.” The mugger explained the situation calmly. The blade inched closer to Selen's neck.

“No.” he replied calmly. This was all he had left. He had no home to go back to. Granted, he did have a place to sleep but nothing was there. The only things he owned were what he carried now. The mugger growled lowly and brought back the knife dramatically, attempting one last time to scare his victim out of his bravery. Even though the mugger knew he could kill him with no real remorse after, he was against it for the most part.

Selen took the opportunity to fling himself to the side. He grabbed his backpack and tried to run away from the pier. The mugger saw this and sped up the swing, catching Selen's ankle. The previously silver blade exploded in red. The whole of it was covered in blood all the way to the hilt. Selen pushed away with his other leg and managed to rip the knife out of his attacker's hands. He limped off as fast as he could. The mugger saw how badly he had injured the poor man and sprung from his place on the ground. Selen felt a tug and then a rip as his attacker tore the knife from his ankle. Selen refused to scream and allow any weakness to show. However; tough as he appeared, he did move away twice as frantically.

“I have to get there. I have to make it. It's all I have left...” He looked at his rings. The three of them glittered in the night, and each one carried a different stone. The largest one bore a small emerald and sat on his index finger of his left hand. It seemed a bit disproportional to him, the silver band of the ring almost completely enveloped the gem. But the next one seemed a little better. It lay on his middle finger of the same hand. The blue sapphire was rectangular in shape and sloped up into a trapezoid. Black carvings flowed along the silver band and they all touched the gem when they ended. The last one was the most elegant of them all. The memory was also the most painful. The whole ring was a solid ruby that had been smoothed out and bore through by the waters of a river. It wasn't thick or jagged and it fit nicely on his ring finger and glowed more than the other two. If he didn't know better, it would have looked like an  plastic band. Selen slowed to look at his reasons for making the trek, and in his pause, the mugger stabbed him through the shoulder. The small tip of the knife protruded through the front.

“Of all the times to die... It has to be when I'm so close...”

“Twilight Sparkle, your presence is requested immediately in the Princess's courts.” A guard stood before the library door. He was clad in black armor that looked more like it was made of obsidian rather than iron or steel. Twilight still held onto the doorknob and stared the guard in the face with her mouth agape. He was taller than the Princess herself and his coat was a deep brown. “If you do not begin packing your things I will be forced to carry you by your tail to the castle. Celestia will not be happy with me if I do that so could you please just grab your girly things so we can go?” the guard's voice boomed and the frame of the door shook from the bass.

“You... You're not a guard for Celestia. And you're an... an...” Twilight stared at the horn atop his head and then glanced quickly at his wings.

“Alicorn. Yes I know. Move, I'm packing your things for you. Also, do not doubt my position for Celestia. She does not let guards like me out of her sight often, mainly because we often do our job to well. Where do you keep your backpacks?” The guard pushed his way past Twilight and forced himself in through the doorway. It barely fit him and his armor scraped against the sides, crushing the wood.

“Why do I need to pack my bags?” Twilight asked tentatively. She had so many questions but that was the only one she could get out. The alicorn before her did not answer. Instead he bent down on one knee and his horn lit up. The aura around it was completely black. Soon after the whole tree lit up with the same terrifying glow. Even Twilight seemed to have the shadow cast across her and if that hadn't worried her what happened next would have scared her to peices. The whole tree that the library was staged in, began floating. It suddenly fell to the floor as the guard released his grasp upon it and pulled out Twilight's backpack.

“What do you need for a week? Food and water will be supplied. Also do not ask me to put any of your petty books in here.” The alicorn did not turn to face her and instead talked to the wall before him.

“I just... uh I just need my brush... Are you sure I can't bring any books?” Twilight moved to the side to try and get a look at the guard's face.

“You may bring three, but I will not touch those filthy things. You will put them in there.” Twilight was stunned. Her books? Filthy? This had to be the rudest guard in all of Equestria. She put her books into her backpack quickly, attempting to please the powerful pony.

“And now we go.” The guard turned to face the door and  looked at it in dismay. The whole frame was splintered and instead of looking like it would support the original shape, it only looked as if it would fit a diamond shaped piece of wood. “I am sorry about your door.”

“It's okay. I'll just...” Twilight began to use her magic to try and push the pieces of wood back into place when the whole wall exploded outward. It crashed into the street. Twilight sat with her mouth agape for the second time in the past few minutes. After the problem with Discord, she had put up a few magical barriers to keep the tree house together. But the pony standing next to her had completely obliterated them. All of them. In one swift blow.

“Celestia will have me or another of my brethren fix that later. Now we go.” The alicorn was about to teleport them to the castle but he was interrupted by what was quickly becoming the most annoying voice on the planet.

“Shouldn't the elements of harmony come too?” Twilight was searching for a reason to see her friends again. She hoped that maybe they could come with for she knew she would be gone for a while. Mainly because the guard had asked her to pack a bag.

“No. Unless you want them to die.” The alicorn replied. He cast the spell that would take them to Canterlot just as Twilight screamed. They appeared before the huge doors that gave way to Celestia's court.

“Twilight can’t I just sleep for five more minutes?” Spike had been woken by the wall falling to the ground and was still mumbling to a Twilight that wasn’t there. He soon fell back asleep, not noticing the missing wall.

“What do you mean?! Am I going to DIE?! WHY AM I HERE?! TELL ME NOW!”  Twilight's voice became more and more escalated. She asked several more questions after that and Celestia listened in mild amusement behind the huge doors.

“I wonder how Burgundy is doing...” Celestia thought to herself. A smile grew on her face as she imagined Twilight backing the huge alicorn into a wall with a verbal assault. “I guess I should probably relieve him.” She burst through the big doors with a disdainful frown that had replaced the smile. Her imagination did not yield the truth as Burgundy stood strong and tall with his side to the frantic pony.

“Leave the guard alone, he has done nothing wrong. Burgundy you can go. I would like you however to fix the library before you retire for the day.” The Princess addressed the guard. He nodded.

“Who was watching me then? Alabaster?” Celestia nodded. “Why do I always get the hard ones?” questioned Burgundy.

“I will also probably be needing your services again soon so do not rest heavily.” The princess excused the guard with a wave of her head. He walked a bit before teleporting back to the library in Ponyville. “Come with me child.” Twilight followed her teacher into the hall which usually held Celestia's advisers and informants. It was now empty.

“Where is everyone?” asked a very tentative Twilight. It was one thing to be brave towards a guard who had been rude and destroyed her home, but the ruler of all Equestria was a different story.

“I have told them to leave. This is a matter just between you and me. Also while we walk I want you to ask as many questions as you can. We might not have much time other than now to clarify.” Twilight already knew her first question.

“Who is Burgundy?”

“Part of my own personal guards. Handpicked from a set of thousands of his brethren. The reason you haven't seen him or his comrades is because they do their job too well.”

“He said the same thing. What does that mean.”

“The wall of your home is completely gone. He lifted up your house to search for a backpack. He stands a whole three hoof breadths above me, Twilight. He is scary. If my subjects saw him constantly then no one would trust me.”

“Who is Alabaster?”

“I send two of them at a time. One to do the job and the other to observe him.”

“Are they all males?”

“Yes. I choose them when they are in the most desperate times of their lives. I take care of them as if I am their mother and now they serve me.”

“Why are they so big?” An uncomfortable silence ensued. Celestia stopped walking.

“Because they aren't ponies. Not originally anyways.”

“Then what are they?”

“You will find out sooner than you think. Now Twilight Sparkle. Are you ready to meet your new friend? I also think that I will keep Burgundy around to keep him in check. Sometimes these new ones are a little... rambunctious. But for now you will have to deal with him yourself. Any last questions?” Twilight realized that she was standing on an obsidian platform that allowed her to be eye level with her teacher. It seemed to have purple electricity flowing down the sides of it. There were also a few red tinged pillars on the sides of the platform that also carried the same purple energy.

“Why cant the rest of the elements come?”

“If I had all of you go then only one or two of you would be guaranteed a return. I cant expect him to protect all of you. Goodbye for now Twilight Sparkle.”

“What no! I don't even know why I'm he...” she was cut off by the purple energy arcing towards her. Celestia charged her horn and when the ball that had formed on the tip touched the purple magic, Twilight was teleported to a distant planet.

“No no no no no... Not another one... I have to get away. I have to keep moving...” Selen said aloud. He sat next to a bloody mess of a person. The head was completely crushed as well as one of the feet. A leg was completely fine (except for the destroyed foot) while the other one was bent upwards and flush with the torso, which had a few ribs sticking out of the flesh. “I have to go. I have to keep moving...” Selen stood up and looked over the body for what he knew he was sure to find. A ring. It was much duller than the ones he was currently wearing but it was definitely silver, no matter how many scratches adorned it. There was no gem, no soul to the ring, but Selen put it on his pinkie finger anyways. He also took the knife and kept walking. The early morning air cleared his conscious. It wasn't as if he hadn't killed others. And if anything this one was easy. Out of the four people he had brutally murdered in his life, this one was the least significant.

“Not like Ann...” he was cut off by a white flash of light in front of him. “It was this pier?! This one?!” He hadn’t even gone ten feet from the dead body. Selen knew something out of the ordinary was happening, which was what he had been looking for for the past year. A screaming pony appeared. Her mane as well as her body were obscure and unorthodox colors. Not like the horses that he was accustomed to. “They’re ponies? And they have tramp stamps?” he thought as he gazed at the star on the flank of the foreign being.The purple pony stopped screaming and fell to the ground. Selen ran over and picked up her head and noticed that she had very human like features. Even the nose seemed to be snubbed compared to that of one of the horses he was more familiar with. Selen poked her head. No reaction.

“Are you dead little pony thing? Because that would really suck. Can you not be dead please?” Selen had never been good at talking to baby animals or small delicate things. Twilight began to open her eyes and a smile crossed Selen’s face. The opposite was true for Twilight, for she gained a frown, which turned into a gaping hole very soon. She screamed right into Selen’s face and he dropped her head as he quickly backed away from the purple creature.

“Ouch! My head... As if seeing all of space whizz by you isn’t bad enough...” She looked over at the stunned thing that stood before her. It was like nothing she had ever seen. Tall, about four hoof-breadths above Celestia, lean and it seemed to be wearing clothes. The lower half of the clothes were torn and ripped and the creature seemed to be leaning away from an especially dark spot on the bottom part of one of its appendages. A red drop fell from the torn cloth and she soon realized that it was blood. She hadn’t seen very much blood before. It seemed like so much... It went up the dark blue fabric in bursts and streams of red. She also noticed another dark spot on the creatures shoulder. The being held it with an undying grip and a long stream ran down what looked like regular skin and ended at a few pegs of flesh. Another drop hit the ground and Twilight winced. She felt sick and wanted to throw up badly. But that would not be a good first impression and Celestia had said that she was to make a friend out of this thing. And even as out of context and instruction she was, she would do her best to please her teacher.

“My name is Twilight Sparkle. Pleased to meet you.” She stood up and stuck out her hoof. The creature before her looked a little dumbfounded before mirroring the gesture with its injured appendage. The blood splattered on her hoof and she grimaced before her jaw dropped. His taller stature allowed the blood to continue from his arm onto hers.

“Oh god I’m so sorry!” Selen pulled away and the blood pushed out of his shoulder more profusely. “Could you just excuse me for a second. Twilight finished her inventory of her new “friend”. The bottom half was accounted for. Things that covered what must be the equal of feet were black and looked like they had ridges and deep carvings in them. They looked as if they were spiked as well on the bottom. Then it occurred to her that they might not be coverings for hooves, but this planet’s version of hooves themselves. The simple idea of something so odd looking and deformed disgusted her. She avoided the thought and moved upwards. A fuzzy bit of clothing adorned his torso. One sleeve went all the way to where the tubes of flesh connected to the arm whereas on the other side, his bloody shoulder was showing. There was no sleeve on that side. A rip was heard and his sweatshirt was quickly turned into a vest. The other sleeve fell at his feet.

“I just need to wrap this real fast then we can get down to business...”

“Business? I don’t even know your name.” Twilight was confused. She assumed that originally she must seem like an alien as he did to her. But he seemed so calm about it. As if he had been expecting her.

“Well your kinda stuck in an alien world that is filled with corruption, hate, and anger right now. Your magic probably wont work here so your going to have to wait for your friends to save you. My name is Selen. That bloody mess over there was a mugger, which is one example of the rage and hate in this world. He is the cause of the blood on me that you see now. But gallons more have been spilled before this. I would show you scars but you already look like your going to pass out.” Selen paused as Twilight swayed to one side. She looked very pale. He began again. “You are a pony from Equestria yes?” Twilight nodded. “Excuse for a moment.” Selen turned around so his back was to Twilight. “Yes! Mother fucking YES! I was RIGHT!!!” A fist shot into the air in triumph during his short outburst. He turned back around. “Can you hold this with your teeth for me?” He indicted to a strip of his shirt sleeve with his head.

“Uh uh sure...” She grabbed the already blood soaked bandage with her mouth. It tasted a little sweet but at the same time bitter and rusty. Selen worked fast at trying the knot around his injured shoulder. Once done, Selen went over to a pillar with some random missing posters on it. They dated back to before Selen had set out on his journey. He sat down with thud and Twilight’s eyes followed his trail of blood that had been left by his ankle.

“That... that it going to need some serious healing.” He indicated to his dripping foot which he had to drag behind him as he went to his seat. Twilight tried to follow but found that the repulsive thing that was now only a few feet from her friend had kept her planted. The longer she stared at it, the more horrifying details about it she noticed. Like how the white bone stuck out from the chest of the mangled pile of alien. The inside of the bone yielded even more blood. Eventually Selen followed her gaze and saw what had kept her planted. He forced himself up with a few struggling grunts and gave a small cry as he put weight on his ankle. But through the injuries he trudged until he reached the body. He picked it up with his uninjured arm and flung it into the ocean.

“Ugh.... shirts all bloody now...” Selen was about to take it off when he realized that the pony who had just come into his world was a girl. And that the vicious scars he had mentioned before would show anyways. He really didn’t want to scare this poor thing anymore so he uttered a stutter and rolled his shirt back down.

“Oh it’s okay. You can undress. It doesn’t matter to me. We ponies don’t wear clothes normally.” Twilight explained, completely oblivious to the morals that Selen held.

“Uh huh... Okay.” Selen flung off his shirt and tossed it near he pillar. Twilight was overwhelmed with his skin underneath. The first thing that stood out was how underfed he was. His ribs stuck out and he looked overall emaciated.

“Has he ever spent any bits on food?” She questioned herself. The next most prominent feature was the silvery lines that ranged from a hairbreadths width to a gaping arm thickness. The first one she noticed was the huge one across his chest. It stretched from the uninjured shoulder to the top of the adjacent leg. It started small and grew until it almost enveloped the whole of his sternum. Smaller disks and other shapes spotted and carved into his torso. She stared into amazement. He had suffered more than anyone else she had known. The worst she had seen was a scratch from an old sword used as a collectors item. Two small foals had been playing with their daddy’s collection and injured themselves. The slash had gone through the younger one’s cutie mark but it was only small and barely visible. What this thing before her had was disturbing and horrendous. She began to feel nauseated again but held her lunch down. She averted her eyes from his ruined torso and gazed upon his face instead. It also seemed to be a little scarred but not as terrible. Just a small patch under his chin as well as above his left eye. They were so faded that if she hadn’t been looking for abnormalities, she would have missed them.

“If you want I can tell you the stories later. Every last one of these have a memory or a tale. But for now we need to get acquainted. So Twilight Sparkle tell me where you come from. I’m not exactly sure if my information is correct...” Selen motioned for her to sit near him. She walked over and sat adjacent to him.

“I guess to start... Where I come from is the land of Equestria. It is ruled by two princesses, Luna and Celestia. The latter controls the sun while the former controls the moon.”

“Wait hold on... They control it? Are you sure that it isn’t just gravity and an elliptical orbit?” Selen looked at the pony as if she were stupid and uneducated. Twilight saw the look but chose to take no offense.

“That may be how it works here, but on our planet, we control everything.” Twilight tried to explain as simply as she could. If the thing wanted a more in depth description, he could ask for one. Slowly but surely she was becoming annoyed with her situation. She was without her real friends and stuck on a planet in Celestia knows where in the universe with more problems and violence than she was willing to think about. She had no idea why she was sent here, and no idea what she was supposed to do. The only thing she knew was that this was supposed to be her new friend, and that this adventure would hopefully only last a week. That is what Burgundy had said. Pack for a week.

“Who is we? You unicorns can’t be the only sentient creatures there.” Selen relaxed a bit against the pillar. His feet stuck out towards Twilight and it took every once of her strength to keep from staring at the wound.

“No. There are also pegasi and regular ponies. There are some alicorns like Celestia and Luna. And I suppose Burgundy and Alabaster and their brethren...” Twilight was about to be lost in thought before Selen asked a huge question.

“So how long does this ordeal last?” Twilight’s face turned red with anger. Here sat an alien who disgusted her and interrogated her. Instead of answering she asked a question of her own.

“No. I’m done answering your petty questions. I was given nothing when I came here. I don’t have a clue about what is going on. I don’t know what the planet is called or even where the hay it is. I don’t know how I am going to survive because obviously you,” Selen started at the statement, almost surprised at the way she spat out his informal address. “wont be able to protect us! You don’t look like you have any food either. Celestia didn’t give me any instruction and neither did Burgundy. The first thing I see when I get on this planet is the floor and the second thing is a bloody live alien and a bloody dead one. I don’t have a clue what the hay is going on and somehow,” She paused for breath. “you seem to know everything about me and my world. So spill the beans. Give me a history. Now.” Twilight somehow got to be standing during her speech.

“You , my friend, are going to want to sit. And I have just one more question.” Selen began.

“WHAT? What else could you possibly want to know?” Twilight steamed.

“Do you want an apple?” Selen produced a red, juicy apple from his backpack.

“Oh... You do have food...” Twilight took the apple delicately with her teeth.

“I also have a place to sleep. But for now I would like to stay sitting instead of walking. And you’re right. I have been a little...” he searched or the right word to describe his now obvious actions. “Rude... Would you like me to tell you my story?” Twilight nodded while taking a bite out of the apple she had been presented with. “Oh boy... Never told my whole story before... But I guess if we’re going to be stuck together for a while you might as well know. When I was six, this crazy old hobo told me about a place for magical ponies. He told me about how they lived in a land called Equestria and were ruled by a couple princesses. I didn’t believe him. Who would? My mother socked him in the face and we walked off. Life went on normally until I was elleven years, seven months and thirteen days old. My father’s ashes came home that day.” Selen’s head dipped. His eyes stared between his legs. “And as if to add insult to injury, my mother fumbled them in her hands and they dropped. I lost both of my parents that day. I... I killed her... I was just so... so angry. My father had been at war for five years. And all we had left of him were fond memories and those ashes. She spilled them and I just lost control.” Selen looked up from the ground to Twilight’s horrified face. The guilt in Selen’s eyes changed her expression however. Right now he looked like he just needed a great big hug. Even so, she was not about to take a single step towards the killer before her. She understood that the broken and bloody corpse he had thrown into the water had probably been a kill of self defense but killing his own mother? Out of rage? That was not something she was about to forgive. Selen dropped his gaze again as his eyes began to water. “I woke up to a room completely covered in blood. I couldn’t even find the box the ashes came in, let alone the door for a while. There was nothing left of her... All that I could find was her ring.” Selen indicated to the first ring on his left hand. “That’s when I began running. Ive been out here for almost a year and a half, just trying to find the magic place called Equestria. I found that old hobo again. He set me up with everything I would need for the journey.” Selen paused to rotate and play with the ring on his index finger for a minute or two. “He told me to never stop looking. He’s dead now. As he was seeing me off he was hit by a car. An old Pontiac Firebird with a body kit. The front cut him in half... I’m sorry I have to stop for a...Just please.. just one minute...” Selen began crying. “I never even knew his name... And he treated me like I was his best friend... And YOU exist! He was right! But he’s gone... Why? Why did he have to die? And my mother TOO! They didn’t deserve it... None of them did...” Selen took the better part of ten minutes to regain his composure. He still didn’t continue his story. Finally, Twilight spoke up.

“It’s OK to cry. Do you need a hug?” She spewed the question before she even knew what she was saying. She had just now come to terms with the fact that maybe his mother’s death wasn’t all his fault. But that in no way meant he wasn’t a killer.

“No... No... We should probably get out of the,” Selen’s whole body began to shudder as he resisted crying again. Soon the shaking stopped. “Out of the open. I think I can walk now. Do you want any more... Any more food?” Selen was still obviously broken up about sharing his story. Even though he had barely gotten through any of it, Twilight could tell that this was not something he would tell often, if ever again.

“No I’m okay for now. Where are we going? Is it far?” Twilight questioned, hoping that they could continue the story. It was almost as if she was reading a book and had to put it down to do some work.

“It’s quite a few miles from here. Took me half of the night to run here so we might make it there before night as long as we don’t have to stop and rest too many times.” Selen began to stand up. He had to move slowly and use his pack and the stone pillar as cantilever.

“Why were you running? Were you being chased?” Twilight took a look of concern upon her face as Selen groaned loudly. His ankle had to support him for a second and it didn’t like the pressure very much.

“No no. Well not reall... It’s complicated. See I’m just...” Selen began stuttering. He was afraid his new acquaintance wouldn’t like him very much if she knew the reason for his late night running. “Can I just tell you later? It’s a little embarrassing. Hey do you see any pieces of wood around here?” Selen asked, hoping to get more out of it than just a support for his ankle.

“Oh uh I’ll look around? For your ankle then?” Twilight said, already busying herself with the task. A pile of lumber appeared in the corner of her vision and she strode over to pick some of it up.

“Yeah. I figure that if I can make a splint of something like it, or even just hold it stiff, then we can go a little faster.” Selen was on his feet by this time but still leaned heavily on the pillar. Twilight returned with a large plank of wood in her mouth. Without magic, she would have to do allot of manual labor over the next week. Selen took it and broke it in two with his hands and his head. He needed something hard to break it over after all. He tore another strip of cloth off of his vest and the zipper came with it. He wrapped the two bits of wood tightly around his leg. He winced and took a sharp breath in through the teeth when he tightened the strap.

“Okay, I think that will be okay for now. Might need to tighten it later but whatever.” Selen began putting weight own on it at intervals. Each step put down more and more pressure. “Let’s go.” Selen took off at a miraculous pace. He did skip a bit to keep his weight off the injured ankle but nevertheless, he was jogging. Twilight sat stunned for a split second before chasing after him. They reached the end of the pier and turned left towards an industrial part of town. Twlight looked at the huge smoke stacks and the black could coming from them. She had never seen something so ominous and evil looking before. Not even something from Discord could have looked as dark and scary as the towers looming before her. Except for maybe the long legged bunnies.

“What are those things?” asked Twilight in between breaths. Even though she was built to run, she didn’t do too much of it usually. Selen noticed her premature fatigue and slowed his pace.

“Those are smokestacks. They carry the output of factories into the sky. They weren’t really a problem until recently. Somebody finally noticed that the sky was almost constantly grey instead of blue. Hippies threw a tantrum and they somehow got the government to throw a tantrum too. When the big companies actually said “no” to the government everyone realized how serious the problem of money was getting. These huge corporations literally controlling the world and could do whatever the hell they wanted with it. Which in this case, was kill it. Crops don’t grow very well anymore and water doesn’t taste like it used to. Fish are only alive in books now and people have completely lost their minds trying to live.” Selen explained as they made a right onto a street with huge stained white buildings on the sides of it. Railings separated the sidewalk from the street.

“How long did all of this take? It sounds like something I used to read about in books. The end of the world and such.” Twilight remembered a specific one that Celestia had given her when she was just barely her student. Not more than a moon after she had passed the initiation test. It had almost everything in it that Selen was describing to her now. Grey skies and a war over power and money that had completely ruined everypony’s life were the main details she remembered.

“Every last bit of this happened in less than a year. It started about a month after I left home and people have been trying to murder me for my money for a little under seven months I think. It seems like that would be a long time but really I wish it went slower. Then you wouldn’t have to live in this world when it’s like this.” Selen seemed apologetic even though Twilight knew that it couldn’t have possibly been his fault.

“About living here... I think this is only going to last seven days. Or maybe five depending on what Burgundy meant.” Twilight was glad to know that someone else near her would be willing to believe the only truth she knew. It almost seemed to give it more clarity to have someone else believe in it even though she herself still wasn’t sure that it would only be a week.

“A week? You mean after all this traveling I only get to meet my goal for a week? Seriously?” Selen slowed down to a walk and faced her. There was no expression other than misery.

“No no. Why would they send me here if they weren’t going to take both of us back?” Twilight too had been wondering about the reasons behind her being sent here. This planet looked unable to even support life. She had noticed how murky and grimy the water looked and how discolored the skies were. Nothing in this world seemed to be in place. She couldn’t be sent here to explore or anything like that. And why would she need to make a new friend if she wouldn’t be able to keep this friend. After explaining her new found thoughts to Selen they began running again. Selen was temporarily convinced that he would be able to see more of this pony and hopefully more of her race as well. Perhaps he would even see Equestira. But that was not going to be today.

Thugs and Thievs

“Are... Are we almost... There? Please say yes... Oh for the love of Celstia say yes...” Twilight had been running at Selen’s pace for almost five hours. They had made it about 50 miles and Twilight was ready to collapse.  She was sweating harder than she ever had before, even during her last race. The one where Applejack and Rainbow Dash had tied for last. A sudden sadness fell over her. It finally hit her that she would be without her ponyfolk for a whole week. But then something else clicked in her brain. Selen wasn’t winded. And he had already done this extremely long trek in the same 24 hours.

“We are really only about a quarter of the way there. Do you need to stop?” Selen looked over at the pony with concern. Her hair was completely flat except for the ends which seemed to be spiraling and curving outwards. She was, in a word, frazzled.

“Yes please. I just need to stop for a minute...” Twilight fell to the ground in a heap. The cool, dirty, white sidewalk felt good on her burning body. “Or maybe and hour...”she thought to herself. It was the middle of summer, a hot day, and both of them had just finished running. But even so, Twilight was laying in the sun. Selen worked his way slowly over to a wall in the shade of the afternoon heat. He took off his backpack and slid down to his rear. But before he could begin resting, he stood back up. Groans of pain broke through his pursed lips as he climbed his way back up the wall. He walked over to Twilight and picked her up. She began to protest but decided against wasting her energy. It felt strange to be carried in something’s arms. She felt almost safe and cozy, like she was back in the library in Ponyville with a good book and a blanket. Safety. Something she now loved and enjoyed every second of. That was, until he put her down. She was laid down on her side in the shade and Selen went back to his resting place against the stone. She was even cooler there and began feeling more refreshed instantly. Once more, a thought came to her. She never would have gone into the shade if it weren’t for Selen. She would have just laid out there in the sun and baked to death. Selen didn’t seem like he would ever make that mistake. To her, he was wary of everything around him. Then a correction entered the study going on in her head. Not everything, just things that would end in death. She spoke up and picked up right where the last Q and A session had ended.

“You never did tell me what your species was called.” She pointed out.

“Ah yes, I forgot. We are called humans. Well, I suppose we have many names but human is probably the least scientific but still most common name for us.” Selen decided that for now he wouldn’t ask very many questions. He could do that later when the pony could think straight. For now he was content with answering her inquiries.

“Are all of you humans so violent?” She was trying to push him into telling more of his story. Like so many books she had read before, she wasn’t content with the tale until it was finished.

“Well it depends on who you’re comparing. If you’re talking about me as a basis for the human race then most of us are more violent and kill or steal on a daily basis. If you are basing this off the mugger I killed, then yes most of us are that violent. I think right now, I’m about as gentle as they come.” Selen replied calmly. Twilight was treading on dangerous ground and Selen could feel himself start to sweat.

“As gentle as they come? But you killed that mugger. That’s not very gentle if you ask me.” Twilight cleverly avoided his past, knowing that it would probably end badly.

“Well I don’t do that everyday as the other people do. They do it because they’re trying to live and get enough money to buy the things they need to live. Like food and such. But I don’t buy food, I grow it. So therefore I don’t need to kill everyday just to get by. I only kill in self defense.” Selen explained calmly. He was getting a bit annoyed at the pony’s accusations.

“Oh. Now I understand.” A great weight lifted from Selen’s face and he seemed to smile a little. Twilight couldn’t help smiling too. Just seeing the human’s face turn from it’s stoic expression to one of a happy countenance was enough to make her smile. His face seemed to hold a special power over her. “So what kind of food do you grow?” Small talk ensued and Selen was not happy about it.

“Oh I grow apples and such. Wheat too but i think we should get moving again. Are you feeling a little less tired? We can just walk for now.” Selen suggested moving again in hopes of it spurring questions that would lead to more sophisticated conversation.

“Oh uh sure. In just a minute. But for now, can we...” She was cut off by a loud explosion behind her but it sounded as if it had come from something small. She tuned around to see a small metal tube pointed at her face. She moved her head to the side and looked past the barrel where she saw a man holding a small box that was attached to the tube. There were a few other small extremities on the strange thing but Twilight just regarded them as unimportant. The fact that the world she was in contained things such as murderers and thugs had completely slipped her mind.

“Hello there. My name is Twilight Sparkle. How are you?” Twilight did not sense nor see the anger and rage on the man’s face. The bearded man spoke in a gruff voice. It sounded a bit like it had been rubbed over with sandpaper a few times before it came from his hidden mouth.

“How much is she worth? Being an electric talking pony and all?” The question was directed at Selen. Twilight was still trying to figure out what the man meant and turned to ask Selen for help figuring out what was going on. Then she notice him lying on the ground in even more blood than before. Selen tried pushing himself up on his uninjured arm but he slipped in the red pool of sticky liquid and fell back to the ground.

“Answer me or I’ll put another hole in your gut. How much?” The broad bearded man spoke again and waved the gun at Selen. All Twilight understood was that somehow that metal tube put holes in people from a distance and she could assume that holes in humans were not good. Selen began shaking uncontrollably. The major tremors seemed to end quickly and Selen tried to get up again. He made no sound except for labored breathing as his left foot slowly gained a grip on the floor beneath him, and he began lifting his shivering torso from the ground. He pushed with his hand on his knee and finally stood. Twilight now observed that his whole body was covered in the deep red fluid. It gushed from his shoulder that had been injured before as well as a spot below it. The previously sealed wound had opened up during the fall. He held his abdomen with his uninjured hand and looked at the gun wielding man with a scowl on his face.

“ Nuh... No... You cannot have her... I need her to get... get out of here. Besides I do... don’t think she’s worth any money, mainly be... because she’s not actually from here. As in from Earth.” Selen hunched over a little as he spoke and that seemed to help the bleeding just a little. He also took gasping breath in between some words. To Twilight it was clear that he was injured even worse than before.

“You’re one crazy dude you know that? I’m just gona kill you and take the pony. Wow, I din’t never expect to say that in my lifetime...” He spoke in a way that reminded Twilight painfully of her cowpony friend Applejack. The thief raised his gun and pointed it at Selen’s head. Twilight took a step back in fear. Things had begun making sense at the word “kill”. She finally got it that if she didn’t do something soon then her protector and guide would die, and she would be stuck in the hands of this evil person before her. An idea finally sprung into her head and she reared up on her hind legs. She was a small pony, not much taller than a few feet at shoulder height. So when she reared up, she barely made eye level with Selen, who was still hunched over and staring into the face of the gun. While she had her underside exposed to the world the thief kicked her. His reactions were unaccounted for and Twilight had suffered for it. She was sent reeling backwards into the wall.

“Maybe that’ll teach you stupid robot to mess with me. I would kick you more an make sure you stay down but I gota...” The bulky man was cut off by a sharp bony elbow to the gut. His face seemed to stretch outwards and some spittle flew from his mouth. The assailant had been none other than Selen.

“Twilight run! Take the first left you see! Find somewhere safe!” Selen spun from his position to face Twilight. He had rammed his injured arm into the man’s sternum and bought his friend some time to escape. He turned back to see the damage he had caused the man, who was now lying sprawled on the concrete clutching his belly. The gun was lying a few feet from him and he looked temporarily immobilized. Selen tuned once more to see a blur of purple hide behind the corner of a building. She was safe. She would find a hiding hole and be fine. Then Selen found an excruciating pain on the side of his face and spun a few times before landing hard on his side.

“You jus cost me prolly thousands of big ones. I’m gonna to take that money out of your ass punk. Then I’ma take those fancy rings you got there on your hand.” The brawny man walked over to where Selen lay and picked him up by the throat. His victim squirmed and kicked, but to no avail. The man hoisted Selen higher and higher until he was a foot above his head. “I wanna watch you die you stupid son of a bitch.” The thief tightened his grip.

“Nuh... No. Selen croaked out with the last of his breath. In one desperate move powered by pure self preservation, Selen planted his foot on the thug's head and forced him to release his grasp. Selen used his face as a springboard and flung himself away from the person. The man roared and held his face as Selen grabbed his pack and took off. The western man grabbed his gun and aimed it at Selen but then thought better of it and walked away. It seemed like to much of a problem to kill the stupid person and instead he busied himself with finding his next victim.

“At least I didn’t have to kill him...” Selen told himself. “and I’m even more glad that the splint is holding up this lo... Oh shit!” As if to spit in his face, the universe decided that to be the time that Selen’s partially wooden foot should break. He stumbled and fell to the ground face first. As if to motivate himself, he said aloud, “Keep moving you worthless piece of shit. If you can’t walk then at least crawl. Go you mother fucking dog! Save the pony!” Selen began crawling as fast as he could to the wall. He saw the first left and began making his way slowly to it. Before he could get there though, a small purple head poked out from the side. It seemed to be trying to discern weather the crawling figure was friend or foe. But before Selen could yell his occupation, the purple pony emerged.

“Thank you so much for what you did back there. I didn’t know he would kick me and I really thought I could help. What can I do for you now?” Twilight had completely lost her speech pattern. None of her words had the intelligent flair she put on them anymore. She was so flustered at the fact that she had been kicked and could have maybe been sold off or just ended up plain dead.

“Just.. just stay right there and let... me get up. We’re not going to make... it to the safe house tonight, unless maybe we can... No never mind. We’ll have to hole... up somewhere else. Also, I think you should know that I’m most likely going to have to be... be shirtless the rest of the journey. I’m going to need to wrap this... agh this bullet wound in something and I really don’t want to take off my... my pants in the presence of a lady.” Selen placed his hand heavily on Twilight’s back. She swayed a bit under the weight and strained against it, just to stay standing. It seemed uncomfortably close to her rear but she didn’t want to trouble the human anymore than she already had.

“I don’t mean to be rude or anything, but you left your shirt back where we met. You aren’t wearing a top already.” Selen pushed hard on the pony’s back and lifted himself from the ground.  He swung away from the pony and hopped over to the wall where he pressed heavily against it with his uninjured arm.

“Ah balls... you’re right. We’ll have to find a new... new way to bandage this up then. Bullet wounds are probably the worst thing a hum... human can suffer from.” Selen explained while inching his way along the wall. He hopped along his one good foot and pushed hard with his good arm.

“No just stop let me help you here. Just sit down and I’ll try and find a way to cart you along.” Selen gladly obeyed the order and slumped to the ground. A fresh pool of his essence streamed from his stomach.

“Now how on earth... am I still even alive?” he questioned himself while gazing deeply into the puddle of red that had begun to form near his hip. “What is it to stop... bleeding again? Pressure and keep it above my heart?”

Twilight had taken the first left again and gone back to the street that Selen had directed her to. It was a dismal sight. Chunks of buildings were blown off and stone littered the streets. Piping was sticking out of everywhere and the rubble and carnage made it hard to navigate. Not much blood showed anywhere but some strange outlines were burnt into the walls. Only now, that she was looking at them a second time, did she realize that the shapes were humans, and that the people who had been used to stencil it, were now dead. She stopped and resisted the urge to release her lunch. She looked away from the wall with the gruesome sight and instead directed her gaze towards the other side of the street. She was relieved to only see destroyed buildings and some extra random wood lying about. She noticed a piece about sizable enough to make a new splint for Selen, and it even had a bit of cloth attached to it.

“Maybe he can start moving again.” thought Twilight as she trotted over to the plank protruding from the rubble. She grabbed it with her teeth and tugged with all her might but it did not budge. She tried fruitlessly to wiggle it back and forth, but it did nothing other than bend. She sighed and began moving the rubble around. The plank extended deeper and deeper into the ground and seemed to grow bigger as well. Twilight reached to the plank again and tugged more. This time, more of the wood showed and moved. She was pleased with her progress and continued tugging only to find the plank attached to something. Perplexed, she cleared the rubble more and found that the plank was attached to a wooden box. Soon, she found that the wooden box had two wheels, and that the string attached to another plank of wood that was also attached to the box. What she had just discovered was a cart, and her excitement grew immensely. She cleared the area around the cart out and when she finally got it completely uncovered, she looked inside. There was a bloody mess of a human resting in the bottom of the box. Twilight finally let her lunch go. The vile and acidic chunks flew from her mouth and landed just before her. Again and again she exploded with disgust, until finally she was free of all the food in her. Undigested bits of the apple Selen had given her lay strewn across the ground around her and the mass amounts of liquid flooded around her.

“Just... Just take it to Selen. He’ll know what to do with it. C’mon Twi... Just grab the cart and pull it along...” Twilight said aloud to herself. She grabbed the string in her mouth and pulled the literally dead weight over to where she had left her friend.

“What the hay? Why are you upside down!” questioned Twilight when she reached her protector. She had come around the corner to seem him standing on his head against the wall. His stomach and shoulder had stopped bleeding now.

“Well I’m upside down because I needed to put the gun wound above my heart. See how it stopped bleeding.” Selen indicated on his chest where human hearts lie. “Also, super good find with the cart there. That is, if you can pull me.” He sounded and looked much better. Twilight realized that maybe human had something equivalent to pony adrenaline that kept them alive when they were in danger. He rolled himself back over onto his good foot and began hopping over to the cart. Twilight stepped out from in between the planks of wood and looked at Selen intently. She wanted to see his reaction to the dead body in the cart. What she saw was both disappointing and impressive at the same time because instead of grimacing or screaming or losing his lunch, he just picked it up by the least bloody part of the shirt and flung from the cart. His shoulder began bleeding again but he just grabbed it ferociously and rolled over the edge into the cart.

“I really don’t mean to be a burden. Today is seriously the first time I’ve been hurt like this ever. I think I should be good in a few days if we wrap it tightly.” Selen shifted himself to be more comfy in the cart.

“Oh no. You really aren’t a burden. I don’t think I can run with you though so we are going to have to go slower.” Twlight grabbed the thick band of cloth and began moving. Selen was indeed lighter than she had predicted. Much lighter than the dead body. But even so, she would still be unable to run. She began at a brisk trot, heading down the street towards a three way intersection She also found that despite holding something in her mouth, she was able to talk. She would still be able to find out more about Selen as they moved along. “Why are you so comfortable around dead things?”

“It’s probably all those horror stories that my mother read me when I was young. If that isn’t it then I really don’t know.” Selen replied casually. He was still a little torn up about talking about his mother.

“Wait your mother read you horror stories when you were young? As in bed time stories that are supposed to help you sleep?” Twilight was a little confused.

“Yeah. It was pretty off... But then again she also beat me and locked me in the basement sometimes. Well actually almost everyday now that I think about it.” Selen still seemed so casual talking about his painful memories. They were in no way the worst, but they still stung.

“She sounds terrible. I think I see now why you aren’t more scarred by her death.” Twilight was trying her hardest to keep from offending her friend.

“Now don’t get me wrong, I loved my mother. She was one of the few people I knew who actually took care of me and taught me life lessons. She just taught the wrong ones. Instead of teaching me to love and tolerate, like a mother should, she taught me to be wary of the world and everyone in it, like a school bully should.” Selen stopped worrying. Having someone to talk to about his mother made him feel a little better on the inside.

“I suppose that makes a little sense. But that makes it seem like you grew up without a mother or a father.”

“Well that’s pretty much true when you think of it that way...” Selen began trailing off so Twilight decided to pick back up.

“So now that we’re moving, do you think that we can make it to your house?” Twilight asked with hope in her voice.

“No not a chance unless you’re willing to be brave.” Selen replied.

“Well I think as long as it doesn’t involve anymore bullets or blood I can do it.” Twilight felt the sudden urge to impress the alien by bravery. She took a second to figure out why she had this new urge and determined that it was for her species. She was the only representative for the time being and she would try her hardest to make a good impression.

“ Okay then. I got an idea of what we can do to get there faster. Do you see that big old pipe over there on the other side of the intersection?” Selen saw Twilight nod and continued. “Stop there.” Twilight nodded once more and went on towards their waypoint. She stopped a litttle away from the entrance and pulled away from the reins. The front of the cart did not have long to fall due to the length of the planks of wood. Selen got out of the cart carefully and hopped over to what looked like a dirty sewer. It was in fact a sewer but it had run completely dry. There was a steep drop as soon as it diverged from the street and it opened up almost immediately after the original enclosed area. It also spread out rapidly and turned from metal to concrete as it did. A few slime covered blocks jutted out of the ground at random intervals and locations. “You ready for a ride?” Selen asked the already terrified pony.

You Live Here?

A/N: I realize that these chapters are getting shorter, but there isn't much I can do about it other than force more stuff into them. I will try to make the following sections more extravagant. No promises. Applejack!

“I wonder if Twilight is okay? I didn’t give her much to stand on and Selen was injured this morning.” Celestia was in her chambers with Burgundy and Alabaster. After the library was fixed they reported back to her and she invited them in. They had stepped in side by side in perfect unison, despite the huge differences between them. Burgundy, tall and dark, towered over the Alicorn beside him. Alabaster was just as small if not smaller than Twilight. His horn and wings were a pale skin color and the rest of his pure white body was speckled with small grey blotches. His lips were a light pink as well as the area around his eyes.

“I’m sure the young-un will be fine Princess. All of us have been before. Except for when James...” Burgundy trailed off at the remembrance of his last mission.

“James was unfortunate. If he had come back then none of us would have fared well. James was also the reason I sent a mare this time, because hopefully your species will be a bit nicer to ‘girls’.” Celstia remembered the day she was told that the mission for James had failed. She had been in her room, just like she was now. The stack of papers to go through was piled high on her desk and she was ready to take a break. Burgundy had burst through the doors missing a leg and bleeding profusely from his head. His horn even had a few cracks in it that day. His words before he passed out rang in Celestia’s head.

“He was crazy Princess. It isn’t safe to bring him here. I’m calling this one aborted.” Even when he was on the verge of death, Burgundy did his job to the best of his abilities.

“Burgundy you’re banished.” Celestia said aloud. She had decided on the next course of action and snapped out of her memory. Despite the severe and random punishment, his face didn’t even twitch. It did however turn into a scowl when he was face to face with a cardboard cutout of Princess Luna. He knew where he was. The moon.

“Three... Two... One...” He thought to himself. The cardboard Luna turned into Celestia rapidly. She was just as close to his face and she had a smirk plastered upon her maw.

“Your tricks are getting old ma'am. You should think of some new ones.” Burgundy had seen that many times before and even if he hadn’t, it still wouldn’t have perturbed him.

“Fine. Burgundy you may leave. But Alabaster you must stay here.” Celestia turned around and at the flick of her mane, Burgundy went away.

“I need some ginseng or something...” Burgundy told himself as he walked away.

“Alabaster, can I ask you a question?” Celestia knew it was a pointless inquiry. She would ask anyways, but it seemed right to have his permission first.

“I swear I didn’t mean to eat her! She was just so scrumptious looking. Her wings were so tender and I was only off duty for a minute. Please don’t banish me!” Alabaster dropped to stomach and put his front hooves together above his head.

“I wasn’t going to ask about that... But now that you mention it someone did ask about their filly. Who did you eat Alabaster?” Celstia turned back around to face the almost pure white pony. She saw how red around the eyes he was and how discolored his teeth were. To her, Alabaster was the limit of insanity she could keep under control. Just mere inches from turning into James.

“I didn’t know she wasn’t an orphan or I would have just let her alone. She just seemed so alone. Only the cutie mark crusaders were ever with her. She didn’t even sleep in a house the days I saw her.” Alabaster explained. The princess already knew what had happened. Alabaster ate Scootaloo.

“Alabaster... People are going to miss her too much. I am afraid I’m going to have to bring her back.”

“No please don’t... It hurts so much when you AAAAAAAHHGH!” Alabaster was flung into the air and  turned upside down. His distended stomach flattened and began pushing in on itself. His mouth was wrenched open and red misshapen chunks began making their way out. They fell to the floor in a huge heap. Alabaster dropped to the floor as well, but he missed the pile. He groaned loudly.

“My original question was ‘Would you be willing to watch over Twilight and Selen?’ But now it is an order. As payment for Scootaloo.”

“Oh god... yes ma’am...” Alabaster got up with loud grunts, as he walked over to the obsidian teleporter. “Bye then baby cakes!” Alabaster shouted to Celestia. She began to run at him to teach him a lesson but he just laughed and cast the spell.

“I hope he dies.” Celestia said to no one. She began casting spells that would revive and fix Scootaloo’s body. Hopefully she wouldn’t be missed for too long.

“Whoa, space and things... ah my god...” Alabaster was partially stunned when he arrived at Earth. He recovered swiftly by shaking his head and forcing himself forward through the dizziness. He walked slowly towards the puddle of blood that he saw on the pier. “I suppose I should get a drink before I run off to find them.” After a quick, demented refresher, Alabaster set out at a sprint, giggling the whole way.

“Can we please just walk? I don’t want to die today. Tuesday would work but I don’t feel like it today.” Twilight joked around halfheartedly. She was terrified on the inside.

“Today is Tuesday Twilight... Besides, we should be fine. And I’ve been meaning to try this out.”

“Oh Celestia help me...” Twilight climbed into the cart. Selen rocked back and forth, lifting up the front of the cart and slowly moving them forward towards the steep drop. He stopped swaying when the front reached the metal part of the sewer. “You better scream or this wont be any fun.”

“What do you meeeeeeeeAAAAAANNNN!” Twilight bellowed in fear as the cart began it’s downward descent. Selen whooped and Twilight screamed as they plummeted down the slope. The cart’s front limbs ground against the cement and were visibly growing shorter. It began tipping forward and finally one of the beams broke, sending the cart to the side rapidly. Twilight screamed harder as they began to move towards one of the blocks of concrete jutting out.

“Well shit...” Selen said dully. The edge of the cart clipped the side of the cube and sent the two riders careening down the sewer. Twilight’s yells only stopped for a second when she hit the ground with a thud. Selen landed on his feet, which was a mistake. His ankle shot icy shards of ice up his leg and he gave a yelp as he landed. Quickly he decided to roll with it and try and save the now flailing pony. After the original somersault that he performed, he pushed off with his good foot and flew inches from the ground towards the pony. He wrapped his arms around her as she slid down the sewer and began forcing her to roll. He then wrapped his legs around her and the rest of the way down, she failed to touch the ground at all. She once again felt the sense of security that she loved. Even though she was also feeling dizzy, she no longer had the sense of trepidation that she was granted before the plummet. The two adventurers rolled to a stop ten feet from the edge of the sewer. As soon as they stopped rolling Twilight wanted to get up to avoid an awkward situation, despite the good feeling she had. But Selen’s tight embrace still held it’s grip on her.

“You can let...” Twilight tried to explain but was cut off by her shield.

“No not yet.” As if to make his words ring true, the parts of the cart that had broken apart came crashing down the slope. The main part that was still together hit Selen straight in the back and Twilight felt the impact as well as his shudder afterwards. She waited a few more seconds patiently and when the clatter stopped, Selen let her go. As soon as she was a few feet away from him, he began coughing vigorously. “I’m going to need a couple minutes... Just... just like... two.” Selen waved his hand at Twilight while speaking and rolled onto his back. Twilight looked away from Selen and back to the steep sewer they had just survived. She saw a few pieces of wood rocking back and forth on the concrete block they hit. It was almost all the way at the top. A small red blotch marked where she hit the ground with her rear. She looked back at her damaged flank and noticed several deep scrapes. She regretted getting hurt and then looked at Selen. Guilt swept over her. He was hurt much worse than she was. She looked back at the slope to see if she could find any other areas that would yield information. A few other red splotches accompanied the one she made and she was left to assume that those were from Selen rolling down the sewer. Just as she was looking away a flash of white shot across the top of the waterway. Gears began moving fast in Twilight’s brain. Every thing she had encountered in this world was hostile. And if it could move that fast then... Twilight spun around and tackled Selen’s leg. She dug her teeth into his pants and ripped off a strip of denim. It tasted vile in her mouth but she worked quickly despite it. Before Selen could begin protesting, Twilight was lining up broken peices of wood.

“What’s the rush little pony? We’re already, holy balls of the Pope!” Selen yelped in pain when Twilight pulled the band tight around his ankle.

“Let’s move please? I’m getting a bad feeling around here.”

“Alright fine. We’ll go.” Selen rolled over onto his stomach and pushed himself up in the same manner he did when he was shot. He slowly tested the splint again and finally took off at a jog once more. Twilight followed but not before looking back at the top of the sewer.

“What were you saying earlier?” Twilight remembered how he cut himself off.

“Oh yeah. We just made up like 20 miles time. We should be just about there.”

“What? How? We only took one little shortcut.” Selen stopped when she asked. He pointed away from where they were going and explained.

“The road that we’re on is the same one that we were on before. It goes ten miles that way and then loops back this way. There’s no other way through since the only gaps in the buildings have ten foot drops or walls.”

“Oh I see. By the way you lied.” Twilight raised her head higher at the claim. “You have been hurt before today. Why else would you have the scars?” Her gut wrenched as she looked over at his chest.

“Well... yeah I suppose I did didn’t I. Well... not all of these are from bandits and such. Some of them are... from... the...” Selen trailed off into his thoughts and memories. Twilight thought it better to stop asking about his carvings and injuries.

“How far away are we? From your house that is.” Twilight asked a little louder than normal.

“We should be there in about five...” Selen stopped running quickly. “Did you hear that?” Twilight also stopped, and when the sounds of her hooves ceased, she heard a sound of scuffling as well. She saw where Selen was looking and followed his gaze just in time to see a small trickle of blood fall from one of the sidewalks cracks.

“Run. Run now. I don’t care what that is we are going now.” The fear in Selen’s voice alerted Twilight even more. It also gave her Twilight took off as fast as she could and the other followed soon after. Twilight slowed her pace after a few steps to wait for her friend but as she did this, Selen shot past. Twilight reeled first at how fast the injured man could be and then regained her speed. Selen slid suddenly almost horizontal to the floor with his hand grinding against the ground. He let the soles of his feet dig in and the momentum carried him into a standing position. He pointed into an alleyway and shouted something. Twilight couldn’t hear his words because of the blood pounding in her ears but she followed his finger and dashed into the corridor. Selen made one last check to see that nothing would see him go in there before following the purple pony.

“Twilight slow down. Were fine now.” Twilight stopped and waited for Selen to catch up. As soon as she could see him by her side, a question popped into her head.

“Why were you so scared back there? I would have thought that you would just fight like last time.” Twilight pondered answers herself as they turned a corner.

“You tell me. If you’re having a little trouble then you should probably take a look at me.” Selen gestured to himself by spreading his arms to the sides.

“But you seem so fine. You haven’t collapsed yet and you’re still walking. You don’t even sound like you’re in pain.” Twilight then thought to herself. “Even though you do sound a little mad...”

“That’s just adrenaline and Annie.” Selen turned another corner.

“Annie? Who’s that?” Once again the conversation was cut short.

“Here we are. My home.” Twilight stood open mouthed at the scene before her. The crude portal of broken bricks and pieces of drywall, there lay a peaceful scene that reminded her quickly of home. The first thing that struck her was the amount of green. Not only was grass growing on the ground but there were vines cascading down the walls. A huge tree filled the majority of the room and Twilight spotted the aforementioned apples growing on it’s branches. Before seeing this wonderful atrium, Twilight had the impression that this world was devoid of plant life. She hadn’t seen any flowers or trees or even grass on their way to the safe house. But here lay lush grass and a seemingly happy tree. Twilight pulled her jaw from the floor and stepped quickly over to the tree. The grass comforted her hooves and she stopped on her way to balk at it. This confirmed it, what she saw was real, and to her, the whole atrium seemed like heaven. Fluttershy would have enjoyed it more but Twilight pushed the thought from her mind. She was happy. She put her hoof on the tree and felt it’s bark. It felt exactly like the trees in Equestria. Her world and this one began to seem very similar. This was all so much like her home, except for the fact that a small red trickle touched her hoof. She turned and saw Selen completely collapsed. His face had barely landed in the grass and most of his still stuck out from the gaping hole in the wall. Twilight had to assume that he had finally passed out from blood loss. She dragged him inside by the untorn leg of his pants and laid him down in the grass next to the tree

“So he isn’t invincible.”