Ellis saw the chopper with his comrades` safely on board lift off from the helipad. He then brought his attention to the crowd of flesh eating infected that now surged toward him. Even though he was definitely screwed his self preservation instinct kicked in causing him to run as fast as his legs would carry him through the winding streets, dodging the hordes as they tried to grab him at every opportunity. Eventually his escape routes became few and far between, every time their claws getting closer and closer. He threw his pipe bomb over his shoulder as he turned into an alley only to see it had no perceivable exit. His lungs empty and his muscles sore he thought to himself “this is as good a place as any”
He loaded his last mag into his AK while running to the end of the dark alleyway. He stood with his back to the wall as the sound of an explosion rang through the streets. Cocking his rifle He brought it up to his shoulder and aimed at the entrance, as he began to see the infected stumble into the alleyway tears began forming in the corners of his eyes. He opened fire, shooting single rounds making sure that each found its way through the head of those who had turned. Thoughts began pulsating through his mind of all his accomplishments and acquaintances’ he had made throughout his short life. His thoughts then became solely concentrated on one individual, causing his eyes to water even more. His stern figure had now dissipated into a slump of a man holding a rifle to his hip blindly firing bursts into the hoard that rapidly advanced toward him. To Ellis the entire ordeal seemed to be lasting minutes as everything around him had slowed to a snail’s pace, he swore he could see the bullets souring through the air before hitting their target.
But this almost beautiful display was not to last, as the rifle clicked signifying he was fresh out of ammunition. This is when it hit home; Ellis fell back onto the brick wall and pulled his pistols from their holsters. Realising his efforts were futile he brought one of his pistols` up and rested it on his temple, he began to squeeze the trigger and scream at the oncoming wall of flesh “Come and get me you rotting piles of shit!” as he yelled at the top of his lungs, the only thing rushing through his head was thoughts of his best friend, his name echoing again, and again within his head
“Keith”
The horde drew ever closer, but something was not right. Ellis began seeing a white light from the edge of his vision. Before he had a chance to look at what it was, the wall he was leaning on seemed to give way as he fell back, the light consuming him.
_____________________________________
Twilight awoke to the sound a knock at her door. She rushed downstairs, brushing the effect the pillow had out of her hair. When she opened her door she saw a member of the royal guard standing proudly on her doorstep
“The princess requests that all the bearers of the elements of harmony go the palace immediately” he stated bluntly with a plain face
“Of course” twilight acknowledged with surprise in her eyes. She had no idea what this was about but was eager to find out. Twilight told the guards where each of the bearers lived, helped them out of their homes and into the chariot that awaited them, Fluttershy being a little uncooperative made them fall behind a few minutes. Eventually they were all in the chariot and on their way to Canterlot. The long flight allowed Twilight to mull over in her head the possibilities of their sudden summoning, but to no avail. When they arrived the confusion was only intensified. It seemed like the entire guard were at the palace and looked like they were sealing all the doors leading to the outside bar one that they used to enter themselves.
They arrived in the throne room to see the royal pair standing with a creature they failed to recognise, covered head to toe in what looked like the same armour worn by the royal guard. Twilight eager to get to grips with the situation immediately cantered over to the princesses
“May I ask what is going on?”
“We are going to be performing a rather powerful spell to allow our friend here to travel back to his homeland” Celesta responded in a serious tone that was unusual for her, from this Twilight inferred that there were complications to be dealt with.
“Why do you need to seal the exits if you are simply going to transport him home?” Twilight asked raising an eyebrow. Celestia gestured toward the tall bipedal creature to explain the circumstances. He knelt down and removed his facial guard
“Where I come from is not like this here place, my world has been going through a pandemic that’s turned most of the population into flesh eating shells of their old selves”. Twilight was shocked and after thinking for a few seconds responded
“Why would you want to return to such a terrible place?”
“It is a matter of principle” he said plainly as his eyes drifted away from twilights face and off into the distance. He was only brought back by Celestias hoof on his shoulder. He stood and pulled his blade from his sheath “I’m ready” he said with a broken voice. Celestia bowed her head before she took up position at one side of the throne room while Luna took up position on the opposite side
“Twilight you and your friends might want to move” Celestia urged as the mane 6 galloped to different sides of the room. The creature in the armour walked to the main entrance, closing the door and barring it with a large plank of wood. He stood with his back to the door, blade in hand he slammed the faceguard down and took a fighting stance. Celestia began to build up power that was represented by an orb just in front of the throne; first small then it grew slowly. Eventually there was a large flat disk of energy facing the alien creature. Luna now began merging her ability with the disk turning it into some kind of portal. As soon as a blast of energy shot out across the room the creature began running toward the source of all the power. But just before he could leap inside, a similar creature fell backwards through the portal screaming at the top of his lungs with a pair of pistols in his hands.
The one in the armour caught him as he fell and dragged him back along the marble floor before standing between him and the portal shouting “Close it, Close it!” Sadly his pleas fell onto deaf ears as the royal duo were too absorbed in the process of the spell that they had completely zoned out. Realising this he readied his blade for what was now wailing on the opposite end. Another creature flew through the disk covered in blood flailing its arms about like crazy, only to land strait on his blade and be thrown to the side. Before you could say applejack, more and more of these monstrous manipulations passed through to the other side screaming and diving for the creature in the armour. While he viciously fought toe to toe with twenty or more of these monstrosities the first one through the portal was trying to get to his feet, eventually succeeding he saw his ally on the verge of being overwhelmed and raised his pistols into the air and began to fire repeatedly at the infected that were now leaping through the air from the portal. As the shots reverberated around the curved throne room Celestia snapped out of her trance to see the two creatures fighting for their lives and immediately closed the portal, bringing Luna out of her state too. The few infected that remained were either hacked to pieces or shot in the head.
The room now had a small pile of bodies directly in front of the throne. Ellis who was now beginning to look around at his surroundings was being eyeballed by the one in the armour.
“Ellis?” a voice came beneath the helmet
“Who’s asking” Responded Ellis, who was slurring his words
“Who do ya think ya Retard?” called the armoured stranger as he lifted his helmet. revealing a face with a beard that ran from the bottom of his jaw to the top of his head, long black hair that fell just short of his shoulders and a scar that ran along his left cheek.
“Yall gotta be fucking Kidd`n me” shouted Ellis as he sprinted across the room and launching himself into the arms of a friend he thought he would never see again. The pair shared a mixture of laughs and with tears as they clung to each other. The ponies that were in the room could only look on in both confusion and intrigue.
(2) Betrayal and Broken Bones
The chariot lifted off, heavier than before. As it made its slow journey back to Ponyville the mane six drew their attention towards the added weight (well... all those who were not curled up in a ball crying). Keith sat at the back end of the vehicle, his back pressed against one side, his right foot firmly placed on the opposite end holding him in place while his left dangled lazily over the side.
He wore a cap identical to the one his friend had when he fell through the portal earlier instead of that thick golden helmet. He was still graced with the beautiful golden armour that covered the rest of his body. A large desert camouflage bag lay beside him, resting on top was a large (to a pony) guitar made of a mixture of wood and metal that he carefully lifted and placed on his lap before playing to himself while singing as he stared out to the horizon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1-fQJMA--k&feature=related
As the last note passed through the air Keith turned to see two ponies applejack and twilight staring up at him from their haunches,
“Were you a musician back in your world?” asked Twilight mesmerised
“Me? Naa I couldn’t hold a candle to any rock star or famous country singer” Keith said as he admired his instrument. “I started to learn a few years back”. He smirked as the midday sun shone of his armour and into the eyes of the mares.
“Ah don’t get it” Applejack detested “How can Y`all be so calm after nearly getting your hide torn off?”
“Hide torn off oh please” Keith responded waving his hand effeminately and shaking his head, eventually noticing the other ponies in various states of despair.
Rarity was perched at the side of the chariot staring Blankley out into the wilderness below them while Pinky and Fluttershy sat huddled in the far corner. Rainbow dash glided beside them all in deep thought, weaving in and out of passing clouds with lazy precision.
“Don’t worry your pretty little head about it, I’ve had allot worse”
“I don’t see how it could have been any worse” twilight muttered as she revisited the gruesome scene in her head
“Oh it could...”
_________________________________ (oOo) ______________________________________
“We have heard stories from Keith of this green flu, but from what we see it has gotten can allot worse over the course of the last month or so” Celestia stated as she and her sister escorted the bewildered Ellis through one of the many halls of the palace.
“May ah ask where were goin?” sputtered Ellis as he re adjusted the sports bag slung over his shoulder
“To a doctor” commanded Luna
“Really?” Ellis’s eyes lit up as he thought of his sweat drenched bandages beneath his clothes finally getting a look at from a qualified medical professional and not some washed up gambler who’s only medical experience was a first aid class he probably took in high school.
“Where else would we take somepony as hurt as you?” questioned Luna as she scanned his body with her eyes checking the extent of his injuries. As they rounded a corner Ellis could feel the pain pills he took earlier begin to wear off, forcing him to clutch at his side and fall to his knees shivering in pain. The princesses decided it was better to carry him and before they could ask Ellis had already passed out.
Eventually the royal sisters reached the palace`s clinic where a sky blue medical unicorn awaited them. Laying the unconscious Ellis on an empty bed the doctor got to work examining him for his physical injuries that racked up fast.
Two broken ribs
Fractured shin
Large puncture wound in right leg
Upon removing his shirt the doctor took note of the multiple burn marks and the days old bandages before realising that the white bed sheets had turned pink with blood, he quickly turned him over to see that the entire length of his back was strewn with deep bleeding cuts and a light assortment of bite marks that were all inflicted very recently “within the hour” ensured the rushing doctor, who rapidly began cleaning and healing the wounds before Ellis bled to death.
_________________________________ (oOo) ______________________________________
Keith had just finished telling Applejack and Twilight the horrific story of how he escaped Savannah as the chariot reached central Ponyville, the early afternoon sun hanging high in the sky. They were surprised to see Keith simply hop out and stride down the main street, guitar in hand and bag on back taking no notice of the small crowd that assembled to observe him.
“Well... he’s... interesting” Twilight blankly said scratching her head and turning to Applejack who`s jaw might as well have been on the floor
“Ah don’t know Twilight, all I can smell from that feller is bad apples” She muttered as she eyed Keith until he rounded a corner breaking her line of sight closely followed by a small group of intrigued ponies.
“Don`t worry about him Applejack, Celestia told me he has already been living in Canterlot for over a month so he shouldn’t cause too much trouble”. They then turned back towards their friends who were still scattered around the deck of the chariot. Eventually Pinky and Fluttershy slowly stumbled onto the soft grass supporting each other’s weight and slowly began trudging down the street uneasily, Rarity decided to see that they got home safely before returning home herself and getting some rest. After seeing the Pegasus guards off, Twilight and Applejack decided they both needed to sleep on today’s events and would meet tomorrow when their heads where clearer.
_________________________________ (oOo) ______________________________________
The rising sun shone through the window and onto Ellis’s closed eyes, turning his dark sleep into a lightshow that as soon as he opened his eyes felt like it pierced his brain.
“Hnnnng” He whined lightly as he pulled the bed sheet over his eyes. Wait bed sheet? He opened his eyes again carefully avoiding looking at the sun to see he was in what looked like a hospital, in a bed that felt a little small but was still quite comfortable. He continued to scan the room as he came across his... oh god... his clothes. They were clean but not on him, a quick check under the covers made sure of that. He also noticed that he was... cleaner than he was before. “Ah hell no” he quietly mumbled as the term sponge bath bounced around his mind. Not wanting his manhood to shrink any further he decided to try and get dressed.
Ellis swung his left leg over the side of the bed and began to bring his right but he saw that it was wrapped in light bandages from the base of his shin to just above his knee. He stared at it for a second before realising he had the same kind of bandages spaced out all over his torso. He awkwardly shuffled towards his clothes that were neatly folded on one of those hospital cart thingies they normally use to bring patients their food. Struggling to put his underwear on he could hear what sounded like footsteps approaching the room from the hallway outside, acting on impulse with his underwear (a pair of dark green boxer shorts to be more precise) on he slid across the cold marble floor, grabbed a weapon from his sports bag that hadn’t moved since the day before and hid behind the bed he awoke in placing it between him and the door.
“How is our patient this morning doctor Helpinghoof?” Celestia politely asked with a spring in her trot
“He spent the rest of the night sleeping like a foal after I finished with the bandages” Chuckled the sky blue unicorn who was now wearing a large white medical gown covered in pockets. He slowly opened the door and to his shock Ellis was not in bed, his small panic attack subsided as he was directed to the reflection of his bandaged leg on the floor by Celestia. They attempted to approach wondering if he had fallen out of his bed. Ellis, hearing the hoofsteps thinking they were something totally different launched himself up aiming the Desert Eagle toward the doorway.
A loud crack sounded as Ellis dropped his weapon and clutching his leg. “AH-OWCH” he yelped
“You’re going to have to go easy on that leg for a little while” announced the doctor as he trotted closer followed by Celestia who was studying the weapon that Ellis had dropped. It was very much like the ones he had used when he first arrived except this one was different. She levitated it closer to her face and saw that it was a much more elegant; it had multiple smooth engravings along its mirror like case and it was quite heavy for a weapon that was to be held with a single appendage. She placed it on the bed before checking on Ellis who was still clenching his teeth and limping around in a circle trying to ease the pain in his leg, every time he put pressure on it he exhaled loudly.
“Ow... ow... ow... ow...” He continued to mumble to himself as he thought if he was in the presence of human beings this would be quite a show. After a couple of strenuous minutes he eventually came to a stop at the side of his bed where he exhaled deeply and allowed the Doc to take a closer look. It was the only injury he actually had trouble dealing with the night before, it had seemed a foreign object had punctured strait through his leg just below the kneecap badly splitting the entire shinbone.
“You have no idea how lucky you are that the bone didn’t shatter into pieces” Doctor Helpinghoof commented as he slowly peeled away the bandages. “May I ask how it happened? It is unlike any of the other wounds”. Perched on the edge of the bed Ellis leant over and picked up the large sports bag that read C.E.D.A on the underside in bright yellow font, opening it he began to rustle through the objects inside creating the odd clatter of metal and scrunch of plastic before he rolled his eyes and blindly grabbed the large hand cannon from behind him.
Pressing on a small button on the side of the handle with his thumb a piece of the weapons interior fell into his other hand revealing what it was capable of unleashing. Keith Explained how bullets worked to Celestia not long after he arrived by showing her a small pistol casing used in a sidearm, designed to smoothly pass through flesh with a rounded edge. This however was different, the casing was at least twice as long as the one Keith showed her and the tip was completely flat.
“Ah think it was one of these bad boys” Ellis tried to smile but it turned to a frown as he realised where his crippling injury came from
“You shot yourself?” Celestia questioned, one eyebrow raised
“Naa this doozy right here is part of ah pair” he proclaimed trying to keep his voice from breaking due to the Doc`s prodding of his rather tender leg. He emptied the weapons magazine onto the bed and counted eight live 44 shells, confirming his suspicions. He placed his hands behind his back on the bead and hung his head backwards; looking up at the roof he began to lightly giggle to himself in a rather sinister manner that caught the attention of both the princess and Doc Helpinghoof.
“Is everything okay?” the doctor asked politely. Ellis looked back down to the doctor whose purple eyes were jumping between the wound and his face trying to concentrate on both.
“I didn’t shoot maself... and it sure as hell wasn’t an accident” he deadpanned, drawing the complete attention of Helpinghoof and Celestia
“Who would have the nerve to cripple somepony when it was a matter of life and death?” Celestia demanded an answer lightly stomping her hoof
“CEDA...” Ellis answered bluntly
“Keith told me that they were an organisation dedicated to finding a cure for this green flu epidemic and helping those that had survived correct?”
“Tryin to right they’re wrongs”. Ellis blankly stated as he rolled his head in Celestia`s direction before tapping the bag with the empty handgun “inside this doggie bag here is enough evidence to show that they were the cause of the green flu in the first place” Ellis opened the bag fully, revealing a large sum of documents that were encased inside some thin plastic for protection. Celestia began to lightly skim a through a small document labelled with a red stamp (MARKED FOR INCINERATION) mumbling to herself as she read through a few of the more shocking passages.
“The question still stands... who shot you and why?” the Doctor butted in shooting Ellis a slightly suspicious look
“Ah have no idea who the guy was. And I was so hyped up on adrenalin that ah didn’t even feel the bullet” Ellis’s eyes flickered as he flashed back to the docks of New Orleans where a large chopper was hovering a few feet off the ground, a heavily built man standing at the gates of the now overrun quarantine checkpoint brandishing the pair of hand cannons.
Ellis trailed behind the group using an old police shotgun to blow away any infected that came from behind. Once he had run out of ammo the guy with the hand cannons tossed him one while he shot a jockey leaping from a nearby window, as Ellis dived to catch the stylish pistol their “rescuer” saw the bag on his back that was clearly designated to be incinerated immediately, but he couldn’t simply ask him to set fire to it.
So as the rest of his group ran the last stretch to the chopper the assailant blasted a shot into Ellis’s leg as he ran causing him to stumble and fall head over heels violently on the concrete. Not being able to run for some reason that was oblivious to him, he made the snap decision to slip into a nearby alleyway and grabbing an old AK from a fallen survivor that he used as a crutch to escape further down the alley. As he looked up inside the chopper as it lifted off, he could see nick and coach demanding that they wait a few more minutes.
They were completely ignored and the chopper proceeded to lift out of the reach of the swarming infected below, seeing a hunter grab the bottom of the chopper as it pulled away Ellis quickly swung his rifle up and took a single shot severing the hunters arm and sending it hurtling downwards. The horde didn’t ignore his shot. The chase had begun.
_________________________________ (oOo) ______________________________________
Twilight had been awake long before dawn broke and was calmly sitting in the library flipping though one of the many books she had already read many times before, trying to occupy her thoughts with anything besides the yesterday`s events. Spike however remained a dead weight inside his bed; tightly wrapped in the covers he was completely unprepared for the blast of green flame erupting from his gut.
Without bothering to read the message, Spike simply lobbed the scroll down the stairs before returning to his slumber. Rolling her eyes she grabbed the message and began to read.
Dear Twilight Sparkle
My most faithful student, I hope that all is well in Ponyville after the wake of yesterday’s events. However I must call on your assistance again due to our new arrivals physical health, it appears he has sustained a rather severe internal injury due to complications before he arrived. I am not one to discredit our medical staff, but sadly we are unable to deal with said injury without hurting him further.
If reports are correct, your zebra companion may have the necessary skills to help his sorry sole. I hereby place him under your care and hope that you will take the correct steps to insure his wellbeing.
Best wishes
Princess Celestia.
“Wait… what?” Twilight gasped as she backed up into a small pile of books, toppling them into a small pile. “He’s coming here?”
