Fighting in a world of Harmony

BOOM!

The loud sound helped me to spring out of bed, yelling in very expletive manner. I wasn't proud of my language, but somewhere in my life I assumed I had inherited it. It was a part of me. I sat there, lying under my covers, wondering who was going to kill me now. I didn't want to die, so I held the hammer in front of me, clenching it tightly in my teeth. Thoughts ran through my mind of the many ways to die, but all I could hear under the green cover of the blanket was the sound of a pitter patter on the roof of the library. I opened up a hole in the blanket to look out at the window beside me.

The world outside was filled with the bright rays of the sun. I had obviously slept through the night (Surprisingly...). Outside, small clouds began to cover the open patches of the sky, raining down onto the town. It was both a miracle and a curse. A miracle it was because rain was cool and comforting. Rain brought forth a hope in people, or at least in me.

Though, rain was also a curse. Rain could bring out the worst in people. Taking it as a threat, as I did, people can become harmful. I was hoping that the Goddesses were going to smile upon me today and let me live again. There was obviously no threat here but my own mind. I stepped down onto the floorboards as quickly and quietly as I could.

CREEAAAAKKK!

So much for quiet.

Holding the hammer firmly in my nuzzle, I scurried down the stairs. What I hadn't noticed before (If it was even there) was a saddlebag on a skeleton. I started to reach for it when my mind got to me. There was a skeleton in here! Six of them!!

At first I jumped back in fright, all my senses getting knocked from me as my eyes went blank. When my sight returned, I had the assumption that these were the six friends who had fallen victim to the chaos that ensued. Though, they didn't look to be in positions to eat each other. They looked like they were....hugging. Like they're last few minutes together were their finest.

I (hesitantly) grabbed the saddlebags from the pony with the cowboy hat on. As I leaned forward, a smell hit me. It was the smell of decay. A rotten apple stench that I had never noticed when I came in here now lingered with me as I went back up to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything. I was about ready to hurl, but I knew that I couldn't. All that would come out of my mouth was bile, and I didn't want to taste that, or have a hole burned in my tongue for that matter.

After thoroughly searching the room for anything of importance, I began to walk down the stairs again. Every noise these stairs made brought me closer to the knife just waiting to cut me into the mixture. Stairs started to collapse behind me, with every step I took. Seemingly, they were harmless when I was stepping on them.

CRASH!

The stairs had obviously met their limit. As I plunged through the floorboards, I heard something in the distance. It sounded like...laughing. The apple smell returned to me as I finally let loose, spewing what was left of my stomach onto myself as I lay there, contemplating how I was going to get out.

~~~

Walking into the sunlight, I smiled at my expertly devised plan.

I rested there, unable to move and the hammer being wedged beneath my hind hooves. Escape was impossible in this situation, and here, I realized, was going to be where they found my body. Flies would already have me decomposed by that time, a smell like that of the six ponies right outside this ditch. I felt angry. Angry that the world would do this to me. Angry that I couldn't remember anything. It just wasn't fair that I, being the only sane pony around here, was the one who was met with all the bad luck.

I wanted to hurt somepony. It felt like my only escape. I began to cry. I cried out of anger, but also out of sadness. I would never learn of my past. All thoughts of the future I expected to live was immediately diminished. I hadn't even made a single friend, and already I was going to die.

I felt the hammer edging at my hooves, and I yelped, the back biting me like a dog. I felt the saddlebags lurch forward when I bucked the hammer, so I did it again. This time, I moved forward with the saddlebags and, soon enough, I was able to crawl out of the hole. Grabbing my stuff, I left this hellhole of a building, leaving it behind me as my mind raced with thoughts of the six friends who had survived a long time with friendship. It had kept them alive long enough to record their memories in this journal, and I was going to find a way to mourn them, one way or another.

It was perfect. Even if it had been by accident, I had discovered a way of escape. I didn't bother thanking the "Goddesses." I couldn't even prove that they were real. All they had to even try to make me believe was this so-called castle in Canterlot.

I had never actually been to Canterlot myself. I assumed it was just as any other normal town would be, except carved into a mountain. I had heard rumors of a great castle from this journal, and I expected to read it all. I wanted to know everything about the royal city of Canterlot. I felt my stomach rumble beneath me, and I realized before I could actually do anything, I had to find some food. I looked up, away from my thinking state, and finally started to get the picture of what actually had occurred in this city.

I smelled ash. Remnants of the city still held high and proud. Most buildings were either never there, or destroyed in the raids on the place. Coals burned red, suggesting that the latest attack had been less than a few days ago. I only saw the buildings at first, but as I continued to wander my eyes, other sights had befallen me. There were bodies everywhere.

There were the trace amounts of skeletal remains, but stacked upon these, bodies of recently dead ponies scattered the grounds. Blood pooled underneath most of them, giving the skeletons underneath a candied look on them. Holes ripped through the sides of many of the stallions, and most of the mares that were left out here had been shot, making it quick and easy. Maybe these savages had some sense of mind, but not much, as they still thought it was safe to kill women or anypony, on that remark. I couldn't bear to stare at this scene. Nothing was left of this town, save the library. It was a horrendous sight. I had a weapon to myself, but this was only for hunting. The thought of killing another living pony wasn't even civil!

I ran out, hearing nothing in my head but the cries of the dead ponies. They rang throughout my head, the tears streaming from my cheeks as I galloped away. The further I ran, the darker I realized it was getting, the smell of grass emanating up to my nose.  I loved grass, and my crying dulled down as memories began flooding back to me. I remembered running through flowers as a young filly. I ran by my lonesome self, but it didn't matter. I always found an apple tree somewhere, choosing to rest under it for the night as I gazed up to the stars.

I stopped, finally opening my eyes and gazing in awe. All around me, there were wonderful creatures. They were obviously well taken care of, as none of them looked to be rabid or hungry. They all stared at me like any animal would. Stupidly. I loved animals, don't get me wrong, but they never did anything in their lives to help me. Or, at least I thought they didn't. My memory was still foggy, but everything I was experiencing in this, what appeared to be a forest, was bringing memories fresh to my mind.

The animals, finally gaining some sense, started to run away. All except one deer. I stared at this deer, my mouth beginning to fill with saliva. I realized at this moment how hungry I truly was. I picked up the hammer in my teeth, and charged the deer. It only got one step back before I landed on it. The hammer wasn't necessary. I could tell by the crack of it's neck as I landed down on it. It's eyes were now eternally opened, and I couldn't find a way to shut them. They creeped me out, but it was food. The smell coming from this deer made me feel almost ravenous. I smelled a freshly roasted deer leg. I was ready to cook it, to begin my ravenous approach on the food, when I realized I was lost, with nothing to cook with.

I figured I was a fairly strong mare, despite my size, and lifted up the deer carcass. It was a really young deer, only just a fawn, which made it light to carry. Though lost, I couldn't have gone very far and started to wander back from the path I came. But, what was the path I came from?

"Damn..." I caught myself muttering. This place was finally starting to catch up with me. I wandered for at least fifteen minutes when I saw a light. This light shined above everything else I had seen today, what with the clouds covering the sun. To me, though, it wasn't a light. It was a beacon of hope. A hope that there was a sane pony somewhere here that I could talk to, and share food with.

As I happened upon the light, I discovered a shack. It wasn't as much a shack as it was a cottage, but a lantern hung outside. The lantern itself looked as if it hadn't been touched in at least a century, dust caking the outside. The light still found a way to cut through the dust, revealing a comforting warmth to anypony who happened upon it. I felt much stronger than I did, until I tried the door.

The door itself was locked. The cottage seemed to be in tip-top condition, but it had to be locked. I looked for a key, dropping the carcass I was holding to the ground. I searched everywhere, even tried the lantern, but it burned me to just the touch of it. The only option I could think of was to break into the house through one of the two windows that were visible. I had never really committed a crime though, unless you counted a deer killing a crime in this terrible world.

I finally came to a consensus with my mind. It was futile to just stand out here looking stupid when inside there could be a fire and a place to cook this deer with. I had to break one of the window's, hoping that my luck would turn around and that the elements would not invade. I picked up a small rock in my mouth, brought my head back, and flung it.

The loudest shattering, even that of the silence-breaking hammer, I had heard, erupted from that one tiny rock. I couldn't stand around here any longer, in case I was found. I just picked up the deer and hopped inside, ducking down and out of sight before being able to be seen. I was alive.

~~~

The inside of the cottage itself was even more magnificent than the infinite light outside. All around me, potions were lined up in disarray on shelves. I set the deer down carefully, eyes glazing over every last nook and cranny. As if it wasn't enough already, there was a fireplace in the middle of the room! I would eat heartily tonight, and,  from the looks of it, have plenty to drink.

As I looked over the bottles, though, I realized the only things to drink here were spells. This pony had everything, from "Poison Joke" to "Heart's Desire." I saw potions, like "Invisibility" and even "Transformation!" This place was exciting, and I knew that it would come in handy for when I had to leave. I brought a few down and set them on the ground. I only took three. I didn't want the pony who was living here to suddenly walk in and think she had been robbed. This wasn't burglary...was it?

I picked up one interesting thing that caught my attention, called "Instant Fire," and chucked it down into the fireplace. Flames burst forth from the coals. These would last for a few hours, which was more than enough time for me to eat. I picked up the deer carcass and, without thinking, just threw it in. I knew I would have to take it out, but it would take a long time to cook. Instead, I decided to pull out the journal I had scavenged and read a passage or two from it.

~~~

Entry #32

Zecora jus' got back from Manehattan! That zebra friend o' ours always lent a hoof (Even if she was a zebra) when we needed it most. Ah wasn't too careful when I had tried gettin' t'er house and all, but the company was still enough. Living in the Ever Free Forest was a mighty dangerous task, but Zecora was our only real hope that could manage against the...fights, Ah would say, out near the streets of Fillysberg. Now Ah know that the Cakes think that we don't wanna help them, but in the fact o' the matter, we do. At least, Ah've been trying t'tell 'em that. There was nothing that Ah could do that Princess Celestia hadn't already tried. So, instead, Ah went over to Zecora's place while the others searched elsewhere. She wasn't much help, though, saying she was on 'er way out, away from this "Cruel and undignified place we call Equestria." I couldn't believe 'er! She was gonna leave us stranded 'ere while she got comfort and safety somewhere else!? I got disgusted in 'er and started t'buck around 'er place, before she cast some spell on me. When Ah woke u, Ah was in the barn back at Sweet Apple Acres. Ah began to cry, and nothing that anypony could say would stop it. It's be lucky if the timberwolves got t'er first. She truly was, in mah eyes, a gypsy. Evil to the core. She would never, NEVER, become an apple... honestly, though, she still has some good left in 'er. The good guys always win, and with 'er being mah friend fer so long, I knew she would never desert us.

I wondered who had written this. They were brutally honest when it came to other ponies, but they still believed that good triumphed evil. So far, it had shown to be true. I had escaped the hole in the library, and I had found a safe place to spend the night. The world was a good place for now. The evil wasn't winning. I smelled the air, which was now succulent with roasted deer. I looked over at the deer, realizing it was probably done and, grabbing it quickly by the hoof, brought it out.

My tongue was on fire. I didn't expect it to be this hot, but my mind screamed PAIN! I tried to find a way of cooling it down, but there was nothing I could think of. I searched around and saw exactly what I needed: water. I rushed over to the cauldron full of water and buried my face in it's depths. Coolness washed over my body, relief hitting me.

"Oh my...." was all I could mutter as I came up. my nose was stuffy now, disabling me from smelling anything. I could hear the crackle of the flesh melting off of the deer and I glanced over. The sight was actually better than I thought it would be. I could see the meat on the deer, tenderly roasted and cooked to perfection. I Eagerly bounced over to it, stopping myself right before I let myself dig in. This meat was really hot! I couldn't eat it until it was cooled down. Really well.

In the meantime, I had other things on my mind. I couldn't stay cooped up here, and I saw some bottles and a piece of paper sitting on the table next to the cauldron. I first filled up these bottles to the top, water starting to ooze out of the top. I sealed them up and then looked over to the piece of paper. It was a note.

"To anypony who finds this now, remember that what you reap, is what you sow

I could not stay here any longer, for the army is growing stronger. I will help you ponies win this war, but first we must even out the score. I have gone to get some troops for you, I'll be back soon, and that is true.

Zecora

So this was the cottage of Zecora, the zebra who had refused to help the supposedly Western pony in the journal. I was amazed by how much she knew about potion brewing. Then again, the pony in the journal had also said that Zecora was a gypsy at first. Could this have been true? Could Zecora have been some kind of witch doctor? Right now, it didn't matter, as she was not here. I needed to find somepony else, and while my food was cooling down, this seemed to be a great time to do so.

As I opened the cottage door, I could immediately tell that something was off. The air felt staler and, unlike the delicious smell in the cottage, out here it smelled like rancid deer. I looked around, hearing nothing but a small snarl. I was obviously not the only pony out here who was fascinated by the smell from inside the cottage. I caught sight of two glowing green eyes coming from the bushes to my right. I heard a slight bark and as the thing leaped out at me, I began running to my left. I charged through the forest, the creature hot on my trail. When I turned, I had gained some leverage on this chase, but not by much. I had but a few seconds gained and if I didn't get any faster, this would be the end of me.

I kept stretching out my wings, but they would not help me fly. The magic of my Pegasus powers was apparently missing. This was a time where I had needed it most. As green flashed before my eyes, the putrid smell making my eyes tear up, my wings only slightly flapped, lifting me slightly above the ground. Elation leapt through my body. I flapped faster, only getting three feet in the air. As the wolf-like creature caught up to me, it lashed out with it's claws, nicking at my legs, blood slowly pouring from the now open wound. Luckily, three feet was just enough to avoid it's grasp entirely.

I grasped onto a tree branch, holding fast as the wolf ran past me. I was relieved when it did so, but it stopped, lingering around under the tree. I pulled myself up with what strength I had left. That run from the wolf had tired me out, and the most tiring part was trying to fly. I don't know where I got the strength to fight, but now was a good time to take note of my surroundings.

I was entirely surrounded by trees, plus one wolf. The trees scared me, actually. The trees had faces all over them. The faces were twisted and contorted into maniacal laughter and even crazy clown faces. I closed my eyes, taking note of what I heard, instead.

All around me, birds were chirping. I hadn't noticed this before. I could hear the deep breathing of the wolf, and the smell was still below me. I heard trees rustling and there was a rain cloud in the distance, thunder booming from it. In here, it didn't seem to be raining as it was outside of the forest, but it was just as cool as the rain. I even heard branches from trees off in the distance. No doubt that squirrels were scurrying around, trying to evade predators. I was hoping that these predators were much smaller than I was, unlike the wolf that had been chasing me.

Wait a minute...where was the smell that the wolf brought out when it was around? I couldn't smell it anymore. Opening my eyes, I realized that the wolf had left, and that my leg gash was much wider than I had originally thought it was.  I needed to make it back to Zecora's FAST, or I probably wouldn't make it out of these woods alive. I climbed slowly down the tree, wincing in pain as I hit my leg against the tree multiple times on the way down. This wasn't very soothing.

"Dammit! Why does this have to be so painful!?" was all that rushed through my head as I limped back to the small cottage. I didn't realize how far I had actually run. It wasn't even close to how far I had thought. I had run about three minutes distance and was there quicker than I anticipated. That wasn't exactly a bad thing, though. I was quite glad when I got there and found a large collection of healing potions. One swift swig later, the blood had stopped. My leg wound wasn't necessarily closing up, but the pain had gone from my leg and the bleeding had stopped. I knew it would take a day or two, and I was ready to rest here for as long as I needed. I turned around, my attention shifting to the cooked meat that lay behind me. I rushed over (as quickly as I could, in my state) to the body, digging my face down. I peeled off slabs of meat at a time, eating them more savagely than I would like to admit. As if I hadn't eaten in days, I had gotten a third through before I was full.

I felt like a savage creature like the wolf, but I couldn't help myself. I didn't realize it felt like days since I had even eaten. It most likely was days since I had eaten. The food out here, or so it seemed, was very scarce. I would need to make this last so I could find more food in time. I wasn't about to finish a whole deer on my first day with it. Instead, I found the bed that so gingerly lay beside a wall (luckily with no window), and settled in for the night. It seemed like it was going to be a peaceful night yet again for me. As my mind wandered off yet again, the starting of a terrifying nightmare began.

~~~

I was being chased again. This time, I wasn't in the forest, and it was not a wolf that was chasing me. I was in the streets of an entirely new town, one which I had never seen before. In this nightmare, I was being chased by....something. A large pony chased after me. She was all blue with slits of black. Her eyes were that of a tiger, vertical slits that would scare the teeth out of any pony. Her laugh was thunder, booming every word she spoke to me.

"YOU CANNOT ESCAPE FROM ME! I AM NIGHTMARE MOON!" She bellowed.

Nightmare Moon? Who was Nightmare Moon? Why did she want me? I didn't have time to answer myself. I just continued running. The more I ran, though, the closer she got to me. I ran, but the house in front of me kept slipping further and further away. The town around me was melting, and bugs crawled from everywhere, consuming the ponies that walked the streets. The ponies took no notice to me, but as soon as the bugs latched onto them, the screaming began. The music that played was horrific. The screams were mixed into every verse and I watched as their bodies were turned to bones. When finally, I arrived at the house, which suddenly appeared in front of me, I ran in, only to be faced with a new nightmare. A spike pit lay below me. I fell...deeper...and deeper...into a seemingly never ending pit. I hit the spikes, when.....

I was screaming, the bed rattling along with it. That was the most terrifying thing I had ever encountered. What did it mean? I couldn't figure out what any of that nightmare meant, but somehow, I had a feeling that my fate had already been sealed. I stood up shakily on the ground, my hooves wobbling with every step I took. I walked over to the mirror in the corner, staring at myself. My green coat and brown mane complemented my short stature.

I could hear my bones rattling and as the events of the dream came up to the front of my mind, I suddenly felt myself begin to lose my dinner.

After I wretchedly finished my process of puking again, I stood up, some dripping from the corners of my mouth as I stared up at the mirror again. I was still innocent. I was the good. The good always beat the evil, did it not? I could win if I had to, but could I really kill somepony? These were questions I knew I had to discover on my journey.

For now, Idecided it was time to leave. I grabbed a couple of potions I found relevant to the journey i was to face ahead, packed up some of the deer I still had left, got my bottles of water, and put on my saddlebags. I decided that I didn't need the hammer, for in the safe there, I found a sword. It proved to be very lethal and i tucked it into a loop on the saddlebags, feeling equipped and ready for what was ahead.

As I trudged out, another thought, a memory, crossed my mind again.

"The good guys always win, and with 'er being mah friend fer so long, I knew she would never desert us.

"