Chapter 12
Detox Pt.2

I had been asleep for maybe two hours before the cries of the stallion woke me up. If taking care of him was anything like having a foal, I don’t think I’d ever want to have a child of my own. At least he seemed to have an appetite now, I made sure to give the mare water as well. Like before, she only managed a small sip before she couldn’t handle anymore and had to lay down. I took off one of my gauntlets to check her temperature and found that she was still freezing.

I retrieved a second blanket from the Master’s chambers and returned to drape it over the mare. “If it gets too hot just let me know. Are you able to use the whistle?” I asked as I knelt, not sure if she even had the strength to move her arms anymore.

To my relief, she nodded slowly and grabbed the whistle to show me she could. I offered a small smile as I put my hand back into my gauntlet. “You’re doing well. Don’t worry, we’ll make sure you’re capable of moving around on your own before we take off,” I stood up and she managed a weak smile.

“Thanks,” she whispered, her voice was still ragged and weak but at least she was able to use it. She’d definitely survive if she continued being this strong.

I laid down on the cot in my cell and closed my eyes.

Fifty Goddesses-forsaken minutes later…

The shrill tweeting of the whistle woke me up. I nearly jumped out of my skin when the sound broke the silence and ended up toppling off the cot. I hit the ground with a pretty loud crash and the tweeting of the whistle stopped immediately afterward.

I rose with a groan and headed over to the mare’s cell, she needed water again and was running a terrible fever now. She was cold as death an hour ago… Maybe this was how the withdrawals killed ponies. They get cold and wrap themselves up, then burn up and overheat. I’d have to keep an eye on her, if she got cold again and didn’t get wrapped up in the blankets she could freeze…

I got up and headed over to the stallion’s cell. He managed another sip of water and was finally quieting down, not sure if it was a good or bad thing. He was getting lethargic and grumbled more than anything else. If this was his day three, then I shuddered to think of how bad his day four would be.

The day stretched on like that, napping for around fifty minutes then waking up to care for the addicts. I took a break around noon to feed myself, but for the most part it was an uninteresting pattern of short naps and care. I was almost relieved when Patches woke me instead of the whistle.

“Hey buddy,” he said softly as his hand shook my shoulder. “Sun’s gone down, ready to take over?”

“Yeah, you ready to take care of those two?” I responded as I sat up and stretched. The last nap felt like the longest one, the other two must have finally fallen asleep.

“As long as they don’t have nightmares it should be an easy night,” he said with a wink. He held out a little bell, it jingled softly in his grip. “Take this, any trouble stirs up, drop it down the stairs. Make it look like an accident if you’re caught by surprise with some visitors, I’m sure you can come up with a decent lie,” he said with a smirk.

“That nightmare comment a jab at me?” I asked as I rose, took the bell, and stepped out of the cell. Sure enough, the mare and stallion were both asleep.

“Nah, the withdrawals can cause some nasty shit. Leftover magic from the vamps that bit them I think,” Patches said as he tested the cot. It groaned dangerously under his weight and he let out a little sigh as he yanked the mattress off it and laid it on the floor.

“Have a good night friend,” I called as I walked around the corner. I felt a little pity as I ascended the stairs and took my post outside the door.

The inside of the factory building was poorly lit, but it was better than the absolute darkness we faced on the way in. We had cleaned the majority of the mess up, but there was still a large bloodstain on the ceiling next to the massive hole Patches’ rifle had punched through it. We had scrubbed most of the stains from the floor as well. Aside from the fallen machines and the mess they had created, there were little signs of an attack.

Patches had apparently taken the time to light the fires of the outpost farther away, it would make it easier to spot approaching individuals from afar. There were a few scorch marks outside, Patches and I tried to toss all the bodies onto the same spot to hide how many vamps we had actually killed. There was a pretty big pile of stone behind the factory where we tossed the gargoyles as well.

Patches had found a chunk of rock and pulled it over to the door, presumably to sit on. When I did so my legs didn’t reach the ground, but it would give them a rest if I ever needed one. The discomfort of sitting on the rock could keep me awake through the night too.

I decided to patrol the inside of the factory building every thirty minutes or so to keep myself awake and aware. It was a fairly uneventful night, I didn’t see any nocturnal animals, nor did I spot any travelers or hear any strange noises during my regular patrols. It wasn’t until around midnight when I was eating that something happened.

“Hey, where’s the sentry?!” I heard a distant voice call out. I immediately stashed the food I had been snacking on behind the rock and stepped in front of the door.

Looking out at the sentry’s post I could see a group of ponies, maybe a dozen, none of them looked like transformed vamps, but their declaration of the missing sentry highlighted them as members of this nest. Just how many had been living here?

“Over here!” I called and waved. “Nest got attacked! We’re still sorting shit out!” Time to put my acting skills to the test…

“Who the fuck is that?!” I heard one of them call.

“New guy! They put me on night watch for now! One of the Masters got hurt pretty bad!” I hoped they’d buy my story, hopefully the scorch marks and bloodstains would help sell it.

“Holy crap… How many did we lose?!” One of them shouted as he jogged over, the Pegasus looked quite agitated.

“Most of the nest,” I said as he drew closer to me, the group trailing slightly.

“The fuck attacked us? A whole platoon of Royal Guardsmen or something?!” He threw his arms out in exasperation. He paused a moment and looked at me, I could hear him sniffing. “You smell… Normal…”

“Uh, they didn’t do the fourth bite thing to me yet… I heard lessers can sometimes still seem like normal ponies,” I wasn’t sure if he was buying it, and the rest of the group was catching up. I had to distract him somehow.

“Have you even fed yet?” He tilted his head, narrowing his eyes in the dim light.

“No, they’re punishing me for attacking this place,” I answered hesitantly, leaning away a bit.

He threw his head back and laughed. “Serves you right, fucker!” He managed between his laughs. I guess I could have considered him distracted at that point.

“Anyway y-”

“No no no no, before we head in I gotta ask. How fucking many of you attacked the nest, and what made you think you’d win?!” He sniffled a bit, finally done laughing now that his posse had caught up. They had what looked like four prisoners, two deer and two ponies, all four had bags over their heads. There were a total of six vamps, bringing the group to just under a dozen.

“Uh… You’re not gonna believe this, but there were two of us-”

“Damn right I don’t believe that! You’re full of shit! The only way it could have been two of you is if… If Big Red was here…” I could see the realization cross his face. “Holy fuck, Big Red was the pony you came here with wasn’t he?”

I nodded, “Cinder had him thrown in the cells, wants him tortured,” I figured dropping Cinder’s name would help my credibility with this guy. “Speaking of Cinder, he wanted to see you,” I said as I gripped the door’s handle.

“Whoa Cinder wanted to see me?” He looked surprised, then angry. “Why the fuck didn’t you say so in the first place whelp?!” He had raised his arm like he wanted to strike me to assert his dominance over a lesser vamp, but I could tell he wasn’t sure where to hit my armored body.

“Well I would have if you hadn’t interrupted me with your little interrogation,” I grunted as I yanked the door open. I let the bell fall out of my hand as I did so, it was aimed perfectly. It bounced off my knee and fell down the stairs, clinking the whole way down.

“What’s with the bell?” He asked as it settled at the bottom.

“Quartz’s idea, she said it could be a subtle way to signal to the nest. Ring it twice to tell them we had visitors, followed by a single ring per visitor. Or ring it a crapload if there’s intruders or attackers,” I explained as he started down the stairs.

"And dropping it down the stairs signals what?" He asked, narrowing his eyes at me.

"It signals my clumsy hands?" I offered, trying my best to play the incompetent minion card.

He snorted a bit at my excuse. “Quartz always did like complicated crap like that,” he grumbled. “I’d give it a week before she gives up on trying to teach it to all of us,” he chuckled.

I waited for the last of the group to pass through the door before entering the nest myself and closing the door. I twisted the heavy latch, unfortunately gaining the attention of the two Gargoyles in the back of the group. They were both in their Earth pony forms and would need a few seconds to transform, seconds they wouldn’t be getting.

I quickly deployed my blades and swung them, decapitating both of them.

“Oh shit! It’s a fucking trap!” One of the Bats yelled as he ran down the hall to escape, right into Patches.

I used the momentum of my attack to carry me down the stairs. I passed the prisoners and slammed into the closest Bat, tumbling down the stairs. We knocked another vamp over on the way down and tumbled in a cluster. I managed to stop myself on the bottom stair, flinging the two vamps onto the landing at the base.

I wasted no time as Patches rounded the corner, I jumped on the vamps on the ground and managed to force one of my blades through his throat. The second one rolled away and ran down the hall toward the bunk rooms.

“Duck!” Patches shouted.

I did so, covering my ears as I realized his intent. The hallway shook as his rifle blasted a concussive wave over me. I looked up just in time to see the vamp topple over, a large chunk blown out of his chest.

The last vamp was between Patches and myself, he was looking back and forth between us. “Ah shit ah shit,” he panicked as Patches took a step and swung his rifle like a club. The buttstock caught him in the side of the head and crushed his skull when it hit the wall.

“And six! There we go!” Patches laughed as he shook his rifle, trying to get the bits of skull and blood off. “Next time we really ought to put a tarp down…”

“Good job Patches,” I said as I turned and headed up to the prisoners. I took the bags off their heads, I recognized the Pegasus who had left this morning to avoid a returning patrol. I grinned at him and raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah yeah, stuff it,” he said with a dismissive wave. “But seriously, thanks again,” he said as he turned to leave once more.

“Be more careful this time!” I called back to him as I freed the others, the pony was a Unicorn I had never seen before. The deer were none other than Bryon and Daisy.

…

“Really?” I asked. “I thought the two of you were good at avoiding them,” I said with a little sigh.

“Well, you see,” Daisy started.

“We kindaaaa… Well…” Bryon wrung his hands nervously as he avoided eye contact.

“Went into one of our hideouts without checking it, there was some kinda net trap set up in there. We both got caught in it and they bagged us…” Daisy finished, looking down in shame.

“Did either of you get bitten?” I asked. “Be honest, Patches and I can’t risk anything,” I was starting to think I was going to have to foalsit them.

They both shook their heads. “They said they were going to take us back and bleed us differently so they could harvest from us more often,” Daisy said with a shudder.

Patches walked past me and scooped both of them up into what looked like an uncomfortable hug. “Please be more careful!” He cried as he squeezed both of them.

They both squirmed in his grip. “We’ll be more careful we promise!” Bryon gasped. “Please put us down!”

“Oh! Sorry!” Patches said as he quickly set the two of them down.

Daisy sighed a little and looked from Patches to myself. “Thanks uh… For saving us,” she said bashfully.

“Yeah, thanks,” the Unicorn said from behind the deer. I had almost forgotten about the quiet mare. “Is it safe here? For now at least?” She asked, her eyes glancing around nervously.

“It should be!” Patches proclaimed as he grabbed one of the bodies and started dragging it upstairs. “From the sound of things, these were the last vamps of this nest. Grumpy over there and I are gonna keep this place protected until we get those addicts healthy again. So until we leave yes, it is safe here,” he finished with a smile.

“That’s good, can I stay here awhile then?” The mare sounded hopeful, after hearing a claim of safety I suppose many would. She looked pretty ragged, not dirty like Daisy and Bryon. She looked like she hadn’t eaten much or had much water, maybe she was the first the group had captured?

“Yeah, Alex would you be so kind as to show them around just a bit and send them to the bunks?” Patches asked from the top of the stairs as he unlocked the door and pushed it open.

“Can do,” I said as I motioned for the trio to follow me.

I spent a few minutes showing them the simple layout of the underground structure. Zephyr and her mother had come to investigate the noise so I got the pleasure of going through another round of introductions. I caught the Unicorn’s name “Bonnie Nutmeg,” it was turning into quite the group down there.

Bonnie ended up taking the bunk room across the hall from Zephyr and her mother. I then showed Daisy and Bryon to the bunk room down the hall from the cells which they gladly took. I didn’t have to imagine how those two horny deer were going to spend their night, I could hear them kissing before I even had the door closed.

I returned to help Patches with the cleanup, we dragged the bodies into a pile outside the factory building and Patches used his impressive wing strength to chop a fucking tree down… I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it. He just planted his hooves in the ground, leaned forward and snapped his wings forward. His wingblades smashed clean through the tree’s trunk and knocked it over.

“Damn Patches! You could have had a promising career as a lumberjack doing that,” I stated as he hacked several of the branches off and began hauling them over to the pile of bodies.

“Pfft, come on. A well-trained Unicorn can do it faster and with less effort,” he grunted as he tossed a large pile of wood next to the bodies. “You just gonna watch me work out or are you gonna get in on this action?” He taunted as he flexed.

I joined him with a little chuckle. “Save the showing off for a pony who’ll appreciate it,” I joked as I scooped up as many branches as I could and took them to the pile.

“Oh you know me Alex. I’ll show off for my own reflection!” He said as he hefted the log over his shoulder and carried it over. “One day that sexy Pegasus will come out and we’ll have a grand old time!” He said as he started chopping the log into fuel.

“I hate to burst your bubble but mirrors don’t work that way Patches,” I chuckled as I started building a base to lay the bodies on.

“As far as you know,” he sang softly as he split the log in two. He then began shredding the log with his wingblades into pieces that would catch fire more easily.

After I had finished the base, Patches tossed the bodies onto it one at a time while I layered the shredded logs between them. It wasn’t long before we finished.

Patches retrieved a branch and lit it using one of the already lit sentry fires. He walked back over with the massive makeshift torch with the most gleeful smile I had seen on his face all day. He danced around a little with the ridiculous thing as the flame grew on it, within moments there were six foot flames rolling off it.

All I could do was chuckle and shake my head at him, he was so easily entertained and his mood was infectious. “Try not to set yourself on fire while you’re at it you maniac!” I called to the dancing Pegasus as he made his way to the pile.

“If you don’t get a new burn scar,” he said as he touched the roaring branch to the pile, quickly spreading the fire. “You weren’t playing hard enough!” He bellowed as he threw the branch into the air, and cocked his wing back.

“Patches what the fu-”

He snapped his wing out and slammed the burning branch into the pile sending sparks drifting into the sky in every direction, cackling like mad all the while. I’d have to keep him away from fire in the future…

“Gahfuck! It got me!” Patches recoiled and shook his wing, fanning the flames on the pile. He dove to the ground and rolled twice before standing again. “YEAH! HAHAHAHA!”

“I… I feel like I should say I told you so, but I don’t think you’d give a shit,” I said with a chuckle as I regarded my pyromaniac friend.

“You’re right! I don’t give a dead moose’s last shit!” He yelled at the fire more than he did at me.

“Well I’m gonna go back to my post, you should get some sleep so I don’t have to worry about you dozing off during your watch,” I said as I bowed my head and closed my eyes, clasping my hands gently in front of myself. I tried not to inhale the rancid stench of burning fur and flesh.

I offered a prayer for the inhabitants of the nest, monsters or not, they were still victims of a cruel fate. Hopefully their souls could be guided to a better place by Luna, if Celestia was indeed unable to do so. I prayed for strength for the recovering addicts, I asked for protection for Zephyr and Cloud Feather. I asked for continued health and happiness for Patches, safety for the deer, and the strength I’d need to continue my work in the Sister’s names.

I kept my head bowed and my hands tightly clenched long after I finished my prayer, waiting for something… Anything…

Even past the roar of the growing fire I could hear Patches sigh a little, I could feel his eyes on me. I would not be shaken, I would not falter, I would not lose faith.

“Alex, you-” he started.

I bristled at his words, feeling the feathers on my wings ruffle at his words. It was all the warning he needed to know to shut his trap.

I felt it. A sliver of energy, but there was a vastness to it, like a drop of water that had escaped from an ocean. It was cold, but different from the emptiness of the void. Like getting a tiny sip of water after treading miles through a desert. It was invigorating, I felt hope for the first time in days. I could feel moisture in my eyes as a smile spread across my face. A small sigh escaped my mouth as relief washed over me. I felt her. I knew she heard me, and she acknowledged me...

I looked up and allowed myself to relax, the fire was burning higher and hotter. I turned from the fire and headed back to the door. I wanted to get away from the stench of burning fur and flesh as well, I’m not sure how Patches could stand being anywhere near it.

Patches remained to watch the bodies burn for another ten minutes or so before returning to the tunnels to tend to the addicts and sleep. He said nothing to me as he passed by, merely nodding in acknowledgement. Had he felt it too? I’d have to pray again with the rising of the sun, there was hope again and it was a great comfort.

The rest of the night was mercifully uneventful, I hated to admit it but I was getting a bit tired of fighting. Back at the front there were lulls that could last days or even weeks, here it had been a fight for survival every day.

I felt another smile on my face when the sky began to change color and brighten. First it hit that off-blue and slowly brightened. Soon the orange sunrise bled across the sky and I took a knee, clasping my hands gently.

Thank you for the beautiful night Luna, and thank you for raising the sun. If either of you are there, please give me a sign…

Nothing… I could feel the void again, could feel myself sinking into it. It was overwhelming, suffocating.

I bowed my head lower, squeezing my hands again, waiting for something.

Please…

I felt the warmth of the sunrise, but something more… A warmth on my chin, it was subtle.

It felt like a hand, soft and warm. It could feel the individual fingers, and the thumb on my jaw. It was warm and comforting. I felt it pull up slightly, lifting my face up toward the light of the sun.

"Celestia?" I whispered, afraid to break the silence.

I opened my eyes and watched the sun rise. The hand slowly slid from my chin and my hands dropped to my sides.

Words cannot describe how it felt. She was still there…

The whole world seemed different after that, everything seemed brighter and more welcoming. I would reach Canterlot, I would see the Sisters again, I would help cleanse the country of this plague, and peace would be restored once more. Everything was going to be alright.

I decided not to share the morning’s events with Patches when he came to take over the post.

The mare was starting to do better, and the stallion was starting the fourth day of his withdrawals. He’d need more care than she did, but I felt he still had a decent chance of survival.

/ / / / / / / / / / / / /

Several days had passed, both of the addicts thankfully survived and there were no more attacks on us. The mare recovered much more quickly than the stallion had, she was very thankful for the help and teased Patches quite a bit. He seemed to flirt with just about everything that could give consent to him but she “wasn’t interested in his equipment.”

I had a pretty good laugh at his expense and it wasn’t long before the mare left to journey alone. she thought traveling in a large group would leave us too vulnerable.

When the stallion finished his recovery he was quite ashamed of his behavior and wanted to travel with us. Just until we reached another town where he could stop and get situated. Hazel Clay was his name, he was an… Eccentric fellow… I decided not to ask him too many questions about what he did before the outbreak.

Daisy and Bryon wanted to travel with us just for another few days, but told us they weren’t going to leave the forest with us. They still took every opportunity they could to make a pass at me as well, it was mostly Daisy doing it but every now and then Bryon would try his luck as well. I put it as gently as I could to the two of them that I really wasn’t interested but they seemed convinced my mind was suddenly going to change one of these days.

Bonnie had vanished the third day at sunrise. She was there when I went up for watch, but when I went downstairs to wake Patches so I could get some rest she must have snuck out. Neither of us saw her leave, but when we were preparing to depart she was nowhere to be found.

Zephyr and her mother had recovered from their injuries but Cloud Feather insisted that they not travel with us. She never seemed to trust Patches or myself, she insisted on getting her own food and food for Zephyr, she hid from us often and barely spoke to us. She also refused to tell us where they were going and how they were going to get there.

“Well, two Pegasi come swooping in out of nowhere to save her and her daughter. Maybe she just felt it was too good to be true and we’d eventually turn on her or something,” Patches said after they left.

I was still sad to see Zephyr go, she was a sweet child and very strong. I just hoped her mother would be able to keep her safe…

Once Patches and I had packed our gear and gathered as much food from the little garden we could carry, we set off. Daisy, Bryon, and Clay in tow. Daisy and Bryon claimed to know of a settlement about two day’s travel north, it was a place they frequented during their circuit around the forest. The path wouldn’t lead us straight to Canterlot, but we’d still be a little closer to the city and could drop Clay off.

I hate to admit it but I wanted to be rid of him as quickly as possible, he made me uneasy. He was paranoid by my standards, accident prone, easily distracted, and he seemed to throw common sense out the window at every opportunity.

Author's Note

Here it is! Where will the gang end up next?! Will Daisy ever get into Alex's pants?! Will Clay have a breakdown and try to murder everyone?! Will Patches start a forest fire?! WHO KNOWS?! TUNE IN NEXT TIME LOVELY READERS!

But seriously, thank you all for taking the time to read my story, thanks for your support. I love you all.

-Jake

P.S. Its freaking midnight and I just finished my coffee... Oops...

-Jake