Chapter 1 ~ Barren Lands Give Their Gifts
A man stands on a hill overlooking a city, the smallest dots of movement below. His thoughts remember to years ago when things had just began.
He had just been coming home from a hunting trip, his rifle in the side seat of his truck as he drove down the dirt roads of the backcountry. He had been gone for about a week now, and was looking forward to getting back home and back to work. While he loved the wilderness, the city was his home and he had work to do.
The trees that kept the road darkened opened up and revealed the city, but something was awry.
Smoke raised from the city, he could see armored cars and large trucks scattered in the streets and gunfire was ringing every few seconds.
He quickly stopped his truck and got out, grabbing his rifle just in case. He walked forwards to the very edge of the trees, raising the rifle and using the scope to peer into the city. Men and women roamed the streets blood crusted on their shirts, their skin gray. Men in military uniforms shot them, dispatching them by twos and threes as they saw them, but each group was eventually overwhelmed. He watched as the gray-skinned people feasted on the soldiers. After a few moments he dropped the rifle and collapsed, keeping conscious but being overwhelmed by the fact that something had happened. It was something people had talked about, there was all kinds of media about it, but for it to actually happen...a zombie apocalypse...it seems absurd, but he just witnessed it. Minutes passed and the man, regaining his nerves picks himself up along with his rifle and gives the city one last look. Then turns back to his truck to hide from the chaos.
Years have of course passed since this and now the man, armed with a better rifle and clothed in a full ghillie suit, a pair of night vision goggles upon his head, he looks down at the city once more raising his rifle and looking through the scope. He flicked a small switch on the scope and it’s integrated night vision switched on allowing him to better see the city. Fires dotted the city, the last few remnants of humans within the city, he saw a few people sitting about them, more than likely talking in hushed whispers.
He spent about a minute doing this, looking in the direction of each of the fires and spotting survivors. Oddly enough many of them looked fairly young, he had heard that ships had started bringing people here as the infection spread away from it’s home. Many came to seek a cure, but that was a ways off, in the distant reaches of the continent for one would have to find Patient Zero, or so he was told.
But that was not his concern, his concern was the people below, in the city, in his city. Long ago when the infection began, he had ran deep within the country heading north and beyond into deep Russia. There the infection was light for a few years the military however pushed to contain, so they were all along the border, so outbreaks started within as infected slipped past. But that wasn’t the worst of it, people giving in to their self-preservation over others took to banditry or even the senseless killing of others for supplies. In his years he had almost been killed many of times, each time escaping usually wounded. To be helped by the kinder people of the apocalypse, but slowly they dwindled death or change claiming them. So he learned to help himself and to become one of those people, but even being kind does not stop people from trying to kill you. No matter what you will be shot at, evil or good. To those around you it does not matter, they will kill you for your supplies.
Lowering the rifle, he turns and walks back to his truck, on the thought of supplies he needed to head north to one of the airfields and see if he could find anything, a few helicopters and a plane had gone through, and last he heard only one of the helicopters left. So if he’s lucky he might just be able to get a helicopter or maybe even a plane. Either way he could get away from here for a bit, find more supplies perhaps to the south across the ocean.
A few hours later and he’s in the trees outside the Northeast Airfield, he can see a few bandits running about, taking out zombies with their AKMs. He quickly checked his mag and reloaded, going into a prone position and looking down the scope. The bandits stopped outside one of the hangers looking inside, they must have found something. He lined up a shot on one of their heads and fired, the bandit dropping with a crack from the rifle. He fired again, but friend of the deadman, hit the concrete.
“Idiot.” He sighed as he aimed down and sent another round off, this one hitting him, however it didn’t kill him, he didn’t know this however so he got to his feet and ran across the airfield, stopping at the first body and checking all of his pockets and his pack. Finding a can of Mountain Dew and some painkillers he had been needing more of. He stood and the last bandit started to move a bit, he started to reach for his gun but it was kicked away from his grasp.
The bandit looked up at the man dressed in ghillie, his eyes locking onto his, and he spoke, “Fuck you Hawk.” A silenced pistol round silenced him before he could say more. He checked his gear and found an extra mag for his DMR, finishing up with the bodies, he looked into the hanger and saw what they saw.
A large plane sat before him, it had two rotor engines total and when he looked it over, he discerned that it was functional. And when he climbed into the front seat, he saw it had full fuel.
He couldn’t help but smile at his luck.
He started the plane up and got it out onto the runway, a bit of a bump as he ran over one of the dead bandits. And a few more bumps as he ran over dead zombies. Finally reaching one end of the runway he gunned it, the planes speeding forward. He started to pull back and felt the plane start to lift.
The treeline was getting closer, “Come on…”
Closer… “Come on…” And it passes underneath as the plane gains altitude letting Hawk sigh in relief. He recalled his crash course in aeronautics that a military flight instructor had given him back in Russia in the first years and he ran through a mental checklist. He banked and headed south, flying for a few minutes till he was out over the ocean. He sat back settling in for the long flight, hopefully he could get around to Namalsk or perhaps Panthera either of those places should have plenty of supplies to bring back.
A day and a half of flying later, the barren land of Namalsk passed beneath the plane. Hawk took a second to check the GPS, he saw he was over Alakit. A good of a place as any, he bailed. The parachute that was in the plane being of use as he dropped into Alakit, his feet hitting the rough dirt shortly afterwards. As soon as he recovers from the drop, he detaches the parachute and moves towards the trees.
It’s been a few hours, he started moving around. Hawk immediately went to the army base on this island and got some extra gear, including some equipment to help protect him from the radiation storms that like to frequent the area. However he didn’t find any warmer clothing and the cold is starting to get to him.
Shivering a bit, he walks through the trees heading towards Vorkuta, in hopes he can find a car or some better clothes. As he walked through the trees, he smelt smoke, and could hear yelling. He started moving a bit quicker, heading towards the voices.
“Ha! It’ll be great to have some fresh food for once, I’m tired of canned food!” A male voice hollered as Hawk got closer. He stopped and got down to a crouch and moved forward, making as little noise as possible. Spotting a camp through the trees, in the middle sat a very large animal. Dark blue, actually now that he was thinking about it, it looked a lot like a horse but it looked like it had wings and a horn. Two men stood next to it, studying it.
“What do you think it is?” The one on the left asked his cohort.
“I don’t know probably some weird test thing from one of those bunkers to the south.” The other mumbled.
“Whatever it is, it’s gonna be my dinner.”The man on the left said raising his M1911 to the creatures head, it cowered away almost as if it knew what they were trying to do.
These two that had the creature were barely armed, M16 and a CZ550 fairly basic weapons, Hawk weighed his options, he could certainly try and see if they’ll help him. It looks like they may have some spare clothes.
“Hey you two get that big one!?” A voice from the trees to Hawk’s left and behind sounds out.
“Yeah we got it! It ran right into the camp!” The one holding the M1911 called.
“Cool save that one we’ll just kill one of these smaller ones, save the big one for when we meet up with the rest of the group.” Two more guys in bulky clothes walked into the camp, cloth covering their faces along with the hoods they had over their heads. This got Hawks attention, these two were heavily armed, a DMR and a PKP. These two were armed and more than likely bandits.
He shifted a bit and grabbed his rifle loosening the sling so he can take ahold of it, and aim at bandits.
He decided to take the PKP out first. A quick shot later and he was dead the men scrambling.
“Fuck! That shot was close he’s in the motherfucking trees!” Hawk swiveled slowly and spotted the guy with the CZ550 he was trying to scope up to Hawk’s right, towards Vorkuta proper. He took him down and then started to move, as the guy with the M16 spotted him and started firing. The shots missing him, put the DMR guy seemed to pick up his dead friend’s PKP because the sound of the rounds going through the trees was unmistakable. Hawk dashed through the trees, diving behind a bit of rock.
“I think he ran towards Vorkuta!” The two men started moving towards Hawk. Taking a few breaths to calm himself, he leaned out raising his rifle and taking a few shots at the guy with the PKP. He drops, and the guy with the M16 starts firing, catching Hawk in the shoulder. Ignoring the wound for now, he gets back behind his cover, sidestepping to the other side of the rock, and leaning around. He scanned the trees for the last bandit and couldn’t see him.
“Don’t move motherfucker…” Hawk froze and looked to his left, an M16 held to his face. “Say your prayers you little ghillie bitc--” The M16 went click and Hawk moved. Dropping his rifle, he grabbed the M16 and yanked it from him and bashed him in the head with the stock tossing the rifle and grabbing his M9 from his leg and popped him in the head.
Walking back to the camp, Hawk finds the three creatures huddled together, it looked as if the larger one is keeping the smaller ones calm. Finally with the bandits dead, Hawk got a good look at them and discerned they were actually indeed some kind of horse, but the wings and the horn on the larger one and one of the smaller ones having a horn as well, it kinda put them into a fantasy feel but really in the zombie apocalypse and the fact this island is swept by radioactive storms all the time he didn’t really care.
“Shuh...it’s ok I’m not going to hurt you…” Hawk cooed trying to get them to calm down, the look of fear was apparent which slightly confused Hawk but he tossed it aside, he needed to get to Vorkuta quick it was getting close to nightfall and a storm is brewing in the distance.
“You saved us…” The large one spoke, stopping Hawk in his tracks.
“Um...yeah I did…” He said after a few moments of staying in eye contact with the large pony.
“Thank you I am Princess Luna and these are two of my subjects...I don’t know how but we somehow ended up here.”
“You’re a Princess?” He asked an eyebrow cocked.
“Yes.”
Hawk shrugged, “Well you're a talking pony what am I to argue if you call yourself royalty. Anyway, if you want to live you can come with me otherwise I expect you’ll be dead here by tomorrow morning, that’s only if other people or the zombies don’t get you.”
Luna looked at her two subjects and they both looked at her expecting her to make the decision, “We’ll go with you.”
“Alright then, just let me check these bandits and we’ll get moving to Vorkuta.”
Hawk moved off, searching the bodies and getting what he needed, surprisingly finding a extra set of bulky clothes on one of the bandits. Shedding the Ghillie suit and putting the bulky clothes on, he walked back to the camp and got the ponies ready to move.
And so begins the Hero’s job, to help the new people on their path. To guide and protect.
Meanwhile in Equestria…
It was an all out panic, Luna had disappeared, and fifteen more disappearances were reported as well. Celestia sat on her throne, her mind reeling through her thoughts trying to figure out what was going on. Her guards were currently scouring all of Equestria for Luna. And they wouldn’t stop till they found her. Oh and the other ponies too, can’t forget them but Luna was more important to Celestia at the moment in time so she was entirely focused on the others. Less could be said about those fifteen ponies families and friends, but when you’re a eternal ruler, enough could be said about who matters more, your eternal sister or the fifteen ponies who would probably be dead in a few decades time?
Obvious answer being the sister.
She had sent a letter to her student Twilight Sparkle as well, hoping the newly ascended alicorn and her friends could help in the search but, well...it’s not like she didn’t have faith, but she had a feeling that this was beyond her student and maybe perhaps even her to begin with.
