I could hear crying on the other side of the room. It wasn't that soft cry. It was that cry where your voice cracks up, and you can't help but lay down on your mother's lap. Sadly, I could not help the filly. I was not a mother. I was not a father. I was just an over protective stallion her father trusted before he was; killed. I had taught her to fight, survive. I taught her everything but it wasn't enough to survive the death of her friends. Damn changelings tricked us mares and stallions to the core. None of us knew which was which. Fluttershy was first. Then Rarity. Next, Rainbow Dash and Twilight. Applejack was killed last when she tried to defend 'Rarity'. She found out shortly after that she was guarding a changeling, and that Rarity had been killed. The town turned on her, and killed her, thinking that she was a changeling herself.
I took Pinkie Pie to the safety of my cottage when I found her leaning over Rainbow Dash, her true best friend.
I've been looking after her since that day.
Walking over to my kitchenette, I took out a knife, and began to cut some apples and strawberries. Pinkie's favorite. Fruit always made her happy. It reminded her of her friends she would always tell me.
I could no longer hear her sobs. Instead, just silence while she walked into the kitchen. Her straight hair brushed over her muzzle, which made her laugh like I had never seen. She hadn't laughed ever since the changelings.
"Good morning. Did you sleep well?" I asked. as she stopped laughing, then went back to frowning.
"I had the dream again . . ." She looked down.
I stood in silence, and stopped cutting the fruit. I shoveled a few apples and strawberry pieces into my hoof, walked over to her, then gave them to her..
"Thanks."
"Get ready,"
"Why?" She asked glumly, looking up at me as I walked back over to the cutting table.
"We're running out of food. We need to go into town and find some before we starve. Now go get your gear, and meet me by the front door," She nodded, then galloped out of the kitchen. I could hear her hooves stomping up the stairs. I walked to my room down the hall and put on some armor for the trip. I slid my knifes in my belt, then walked towards the front door.
Pinkie pie walked down the stairs, Gummy riding on her back. "Do you really need Gummy?"
"You know he's my only friend Dale!"
"Are you sure that you want to risk your 'only' friend's life after what happened?"
"Trust me on this Dale. I'm a fighter, and you told me to fight for my friends' lives no matter what! You said that I should spend each moment with my friends just in case it might be my last time with them! Now let me take gummy or I won't even go with you!"
"Fine. Bring your reptile, but if he gets snatched by a couple of changelings, it's your own fault,"
Pinkie Pie growled, pointing her eyebrows down, as the two walked out of the building.
Pinkie Pie walked behind me, her head down to the point her chin touched the ground. Gummy walked besides her cross eyed. He had bitten her straight hair like he had done when she threw him his first birthday party as an egg with Rainbow Dash. She had stopped, and so did I. I saw her smiling, as she picked up Gummy and put him on her back.
"Do you really want to loose your best friend?"
She stopped smiling and looked up at me. "No. But what else can I do? I can't have fun ever since theirs no fillies around. We're like; the only ones that haven't abandoned PonyVille. Me, you, and Gummy. Gummy is the only one that can make me smile,"
"Memories . . . Memories are what make you smile, and Gummy makes you remember those memories,"
I told her, and she smiled at what I said.
"I suppose so," She walked ahead of me the rest of trip. She could see a few shops in the corners of her eyes very faintly. She would run up to them, and run inside. I would always call her name, and she would just continue and come out with gallons of fresh fruit. I was never a father, but when I was with her, it felt like I was.
"Nice eye Pie," Her father always called her Pie for short. Pinkie was what everyone else called her for short. I enjoyed making her smile, and she did every time I called her Pie. She remembered her family and friends, but she would always get hurt inside she would tell me. I never quite understood what she meant. My guess is that she would remember so much that she would get emotional.
"Let's get home before dark," I told her. The changelings would come out at night.
"Can we just visit one more place before we leave?" She asked me.
I was silent, but nodded my head yes. She galloped towards a familiar place. I remember going down their for apple cider. Pinkie's favorite. We walked on a dirt path. In the distance, I could see a rusty sign, with a apple carved in it. It hung by some ropes, connected to a gateway painted white. At the time, most of the paint was chipped off, but the vines and apples wrapped around it covered up the places were the paint was missing.
A large red farm, beat and torn down stood in front of it, and fields of apple trees surrounded the place.
Pinkie Pie walked towards the apple trees. She grabbed a beat down basket of straw, and walked into the field.
"Pinkie Pie! Wait up!" I yelled at her, running after her.
The field of apples had wet grass. Pinkie Pie was picking apples. They were surprisingly fresh still as if someone was still harvesting them. If Applejack was still harvesting them.
"Ok Pie. Time to go. It's getting dark. Get your apples then lets go,"
"Fine," She rolled her eyes, quickly picking the freshest apples in the field.
She turned, then started talking. I couldn't hear her, but no one else was there. I galloped towards her, and saw somepony. They had a grey coat like me, and a green and light blue, choppy mane like mine.
"Pinkie! Run!" I yelled to her. She noticed me, looked at the pony, then ran towards me with the basket of apples in her mouth. I grabbed a knife from my belt, then told her to run home. She did as asked, leaving me with a changeling flying towards me. It turned back into it's original form, then suddenly spit this green acid like substance at my front right hoof. It stung badly, but I knew what I had to do. I threw the knife, and aimed it for it's chest. It struck it, and went through it's body completely. My knife was covered in green liquid that seemed like blood, but with a different color.
My feet shivered, and my right leg was in so much pain. I walked backwards. Seeing that the knife wasn't strong enough, I tried to get away. It ran after me, and I kicked it away with my back legs.
"Dale!" I could hear Pinkie yelling at me from the entrance to the farm. "Catch!" She was a mighty thrower. She was very risky, and threw me one of her horn swords royal guards use. I jumped up, and bit the handle, then swung at the changeling. I cut it's throat quite a bit. It collapsed on the ground, leaving me and Pinkie to walk home together.
I passed her, not saying a thing.
"Well? How'd I do?"
"I told you to go home . . ."
"Would you have rather died? I saved your fucking life!"
"Watch the language Missy. Now lets go. The changelings will be hear any minute," I galloped out of the field, and ran towards the house. She followed me. I could hear her weapons jingling loudly.
Author's Note
This chapter reminds me of The Last Of Us. You could say Dale is like Joel, and Pinkie Pie is like Ellie.
