But We Can't Eat Meat!

To the group’s surprise, the hotel elevator actually remains fully functional, allowing them an easy way to travel up to the top floor. Baggage leads the way from there down the halls, past various doors that remain locked, to one with the lock completely torn off and the door itself left open slightly.

Inside is a surprisingly intact suite; while nothing that isn’t either oversized or nailed down actually remains, the size itself is inviting enough. And not just to them; inside already are three other ponies, two of whom look to have been waiting for the group. The third, a dark purple unicorn colt, with a short blue mane and tail and no cutie mark, just sits in the corner sorting through saddlebags without even looking up at the newcomers.

The two pegasus mares in the middle of the room, however, are quick to stand up. The first one, with a dark green coat and braided light brown mane and tail, steps forward with an unsure smile. A picture of a piece of white chalk is visible on her flank. “So… these are your friends?”

“These are my companions,” Baggage replies, either as a correction or a clarification. He gestures to them one by one. “Virus. Celosia. Trifecta.”

The pegasus mare smiles at the three of them. “Well… hi there. I’m Chalkboard.”

The other mare, a dark almost-black grey pegasus with a neon pink mane and tail, both wavy, looks over all of them before speaking with a neutral expression. “My name is Pixie.”

Celosia smiles back, trying to be friendly. “It’s nice to meet you both.”

Chalkboard nods before her eyes land on Tri. Her smile widens as she crouches down to the filly’s level. “Hello there, you cute little thing! How are you?”

“I’m fine, Miss Chalkboard!” She looks around the room. “Is this where you guys live?”

“Oh, more or less.” The mare giggles. “Until our supplies run low and we have to move on, this is where we stay. It’ll be a long while before the clones come by to check this place again.”

Baggage simply nods. “We agreed it would be best for us to stick together as long as we’re in the city for the sake of protection.”

Virus nods. “More pairs of eyes are always good.” Seeing the colt, he continues. “And maybe Tri here can meet a new friend.”

Chalkboard turns to the colt and laughs sheepishly. “I don’t know… Nitrogen isn’t very social...” She glances to the filly and smiles. “If you want to try, though, go ahead. He won’t bite.”

Looking to her group members for a moment, Tri walks over near the colt, waiting to see if he’ll come out of the bags. After a second, he does, stuffing various objects scattered around him back into the bag before he looks to the filly, curiosity and confusion on his face. “...hi?”

“Hi!” She smiles at him, taking a few steps closer. “I’m Trifecta, but my friends call me Tri.”

He tilts his head before smiling, extending a hoof. “I’m Nitrogen! Everypony calls me Nitro, though!”

She takes his hoof, shaking it. “That’s a cool name. So what are you doing over here?”

“Looking through the things I scavenged.” He wags his tail. “Want to see?”

“Sure!” Her tail wags as well as she walks forward, getting next to him.

Chalkboard looks on in surprise. “Wow… usually he’s never that open… I think he’s said more words to her in the last ten seconds than he’s ever said to the two of us.”

Virus looks to Celosia a moment with a smile before looking at the little ones himself. “Tri has a way of making everypony cheerful.”

The unicorn mare smiles herself. “That’s one way to put it.” A thought occurs to her. “So, are you two related?”

The dark green pegasus shakes her head. “The three of us never even knew each other until all this went down. We just met coincidentally right in this city.”

Pixie nods, still laying down in the same spot she had been when they entered. “I’m surprised all of us survived on our own, but none of us are eager to tempt fate again.”

Celosia blinks. “Wait… was Nitro with anypony?”

Chalkboard shakes her head again. “From what we could tell and what he told us, he’s been surviving on his own since the clones first attacked his home.”

“...did he live here in Fillydelphia?”

Another shake of the head. “Vanhoover.”

Virus blinks. “Wow…” Looking back toward the foals, he speaks quietly. “That’s the other side of Equestria… tough kid…”

“Yeah...” Chalkboard sighs. “It’s almost scary how quickly he adapted...”

“I think he may have a talent for it, but he doesn’t have a mark to prove me wrong or right yet,” the other pegasus mare comments.

“With a name like Nitrogen, I doubt something as simple as adaptability would be his talent,” Baggage remarks.

Virus shrugs. “I guess we’ll see.”

Meanwhile, Nitro has finished putting everything back into the first of his bags after showing it to Tri, and has set to sorting through the second bag as he tries to strike up conversation. “So where are you guys going?”

“Well, I think we’re headed to Ponyville eventually.” She watches him sorting items, not recognizing some, but he puts them away before she can ask.

He tilts his head as he brings out the first item from his second saddlebag; a metal crossbow, currently not loaded. “Ponyville? Isn’t that place deserted?”

She shrugs. “I dunno. Baggage says we’re going there to see if we can find information on the Elements of Harmony.”

“Oh.” He shrugs and leaves it at that before putting the crossbow down, but not away. The next thing he pulls out is a battered lunchbox. “I was there before, but there were clones everywhere...”

“Oh…” She looks down for a moment. “But… you got through okay, right? So maybe we have a chance.”

He giggles a bit. “Yeah… I didn’t stay long, though. They might have left anyway.” He thinks for a moment as he opens the lunchbox, only to immediately shut it before she can see inside. “Um… do you want me to come with you?”

“Huh? To where?” She tilts her head at him and the lunchbox he hid.

“Ponyville,” he clarifies, sliding the box to the side with the crossbow. “Or just, well… wherever you go.” He glances at the two pegasus mares to make sure they aren’t listening before he leans in close and whispers, “They’re kind of weird...”

She giggles quietly. “Weird how? We might be the same.”

“They think staying here is a good idea, even though the clones are probably going to come back through a lot sooner than we think. And our supplies are a lot lower than we think. But they don’t listen when I try to tell them.” He pauses. “...also, Chalkboard keeps calling me cute and I don’t really like that.”

Looking at him, the filly thinks for a bit. “Well… I mean I guess I understand ponies wanting to try and settle down in a place where they can be safe for a while. Still, ignoring your good points isn’t right…” She sits down as she taps her chin. “I know sometimes adults don’t listen, and I think it’d be kind of neat if you came with us… but wouldn’t it make them sad if you left?”

The unicorn colt frowns. “I didn’t think of that… but still, I’d be leaving in a couple days on my own anyway.” He looks to his bags again, taking out a map and unrolling it on the floor. Unlike the plain one Tri’s group carries, his has various markings and numbers around it. “I’ve paid attention to the clones’ patterns. They’re going to be nearing this place the day after tomorrow, and unless we hide really well, they’ll find us a day after that. Then they’ll fly in the direction of Neighagra Falls, meaning going north is a bad idea. I was going to go south, but...” He taps an odd scribble just a bit to the west of Baltimare. “They’re starting to gather around here, for some reason. Lots of them. Going straight west is the only option.” He sighs. “And, unlike you, those two have always interrupted me one sentence into my explanation to say I was overreacting. If they’re going to just sit here and let themselves be put in danger, I don’t want to stick with them and die just so they don’t feel bad.”

The filly blinks, ears folded slightly back after his words, unsure what to address first. “Wow… you’re really smart about these things, aren’t you?”

He grins. “Well, somepony has to think about ways to avoid them besides ‘run in one direction’.” He rolls the map back up. “Mom always said I was good at figuring things out.”

“You sure are!” She smiles at him before her ears fold down once more. “But… wouldn’t you rather try to convince them a little more rather than just leave them to face the clones? I don’t like the thought of more ponies dying…”

He loses his grin, poking the ground. “...I can try… I still don’t think they’ll listen, though...”

“Then I’ll help you.” Her eyes narrow in determination. “My sis and the other adults I travel with listen to me, so if we get help from them and keep yours quiet, I think we can do this.”

Nitro smiles after a moment. “Thanks, Tri.”

“You’re welcome!” Her smile returns as she brings him into a hug.

His eyes widen as he is taken by surprise, going stiff before he tentatively hugs back. “...er… okay...”

She giggles, letting him go and looking him in the eyes. “Come on, I’m the one with the plan now… and it involves feathers.”

He can only blink at this. “Feathers?”

“You’ll see.” She grins.

“So, Baggage said you four are headed to Ponyville,” Chalkboard comments, the adults having settled themselves down on and around the bed. “Any reason why? It’s not exactly a safe haven.”

Virus is the one to answer. “It’s on our way north, and we thought we might look around a little while we’re there.

“North…? Oh, don’t tell me.” She rolls her eyes. “You think you can get into the Crystal Empire.”

“Is that… a problem?” Celosia asks, looking confused.

Pixie speaks up. “Getting there is hard enough with how far it is, but whatever they’re doing to keep the clones out will keep you out too. Considering how they hid, I doubt they’re taking in refugees.” Her voice is noticeably bitter at the end.

“Not to mention the permanent winter for miles around it. If you’re stubborn enough to keep going there, at least half of you would die of frostbite before you finally come to terms with the fact that the Empire is gone. And the rest would die trying to leave.” Chalkboard shakes her head. “There’s a reason a place like that sounds too good to be true. It is.”

“Do you know for a fact it’s gone?” the pegasus stallion ask after a minute.

Chalkboard sighs. “It’s not so much ‘gone’ as it is ‘hidden’. Some sort of illusion and repulsion magic mixed together. You’ll wander close to it without seeing it, and before you’re even aware of what you’re doing, you’ll have turned around and started walking away.”

“How do you know all this?” Baggage inquires.

“My brother and sister tried going there a while back. My sister was a unicorn, and analyzing types of magic was her specialty. That’s how she realized what was going on.” She lowers her head onto her forelegs. “Almost didn’t make it back out of there.”

“Oh…” Virus’s ears and wings droop.

Celosia decides to change the topic quickly. “So, um… where did you two come from? What did you do before all this happened?”

The dark green pegasus seems to perk up. “I was an elementary school teacher up in Cloudsdale. Been doing it for well over ten years now.” She smirks at Virus. “I probably taught you one year and you don’t even remember.”

He clears his throat. “Any, uh, tendencies as a teacher?”

“Nothing too special, I don’t think. I didn’t have very memorable classes.” She shrugs with a sigh. “Sometimes I brought in my tamed parasprite Kirby, but that was about it.”

“Oh, that was you!” His wings flare as he laughs. “I remember that little puffball… cute thing.”

She smiles again, but a bit sadly. “Unfortunate how our reunion is under these circumstances...”

“And you?” Celosia asks Pixie.

The dark mare looks down sadly. “I used to help make auroras… I helped the colourful lights of the night dance.”

“That sounds interesting.” The unicorn smiles, hoping her cheerfulness would be contagious.

A small smile grows on the mare’s face. “I was in charge of the pink one, the one that was cheery and loved by couples. I liked sneaking heart shapes into it.”

“Really? You sound very talented.” Pleased at her success, Celosia presses on. “My family always liked seeing the auroras in the sky.”

“Thank you.” Her pink tail wags happily. “Glad to know ponies appreciate it.”

The unicorn grins, putting a foreleg over the other mare’s shoulders. “Once this country is back on its hooves, I’m sure you’ll be able to keep making couples happy.”

“If it ever gets that way again...” Baggage mutters, ignored or unheard by the others. He glances over at the kids, only to blink when he sees them walking out the door. “Should somepony go after them?”

“Hm?” Chalkboard glances up, realizing what he means, and shakes her head. “The hotel’s perfectly safe, and Nitro’s probably a better protector for the girl than any of you.” She flinches from the glare she receives from the unicorn. “What? What did I say?!”

“Nothing will happen to Tri.” Virus leans over and nuzzles his marefriend, or wife if you ask a certain filly which neither of them argue against. “See? They’re right over there, playing in the bags… well, they were…”

“They’ll be fine,” the dark green mare assures them, still looking a little unsettled. “Let’s get back onto peaceful conversation, if we could? Are any of you hungry?”

“Perhaps a little something. You sure you want to share?” In a world like this, nopony can really blame anyone for hogging food or supplies if they need them.

Chalkboard nods, standing up and hopping off the bed. “Nitro carries his own supplies, so he doesn’t drain any of our resources. We can afford to spare some food, especially after we found this place’s kitchen only half-scavenged.” She heads over to the bags. “Can’t cook any of it, though. Hope you don’t mind cold food.”

He nods. “As long as it doesn’t make us sick.”

“We’ve been eating it for days and we’re still fine, aren’t we?” She smirks as she pulls out a few random cans of food; tomatoes, peaches, soup, and other things definitely past their expiration date, but not quite enough to be worrisome.

As the food gets passed out and opened, Celosia decides to speak up again. “I’m a little surprised you two are holding out for so long… this place doesn’t seem like there’s much left to scavenge.”

Pixie motions to the food. “I’m sure there are a few more places like the kitchen that haven’t been scavenged. Better to be here in comfort while we look than somewhere else where we don’t know the situation.”

“You’ll have to branch out eventually,” Baggage says simply as he takes his opened can.

“Maybe, but that’s eventually, not now.” Chalkboard picks up her can and, no longer having regard for table manners, just starts chugging the soup right from the can.

Seeing the looks a couple of the others give, Pixie shrugs. “Sometimes speed eating is needed.”

Before anyone can reply, the two smallest forms reenter the room. They don’t say anything as they walk over to the ring of adults, but Trifecta looks rather pleased with herself. Nitro deposits his saddlebags off by the door, but pulls out his map and gives the filly a strange black feather they had found.

“...welcome back,” Celosia offers, confused. “Are you two hungry?”

The filly looks to the colt. “I’ll save yours for after if you want.”

He smiles at her. “Thanks.” Nodding, he sits down, starting to unroll the map.

Chalkboard sighs. “Not this again...”

“What’s going on?” Baggage asks, an eyebrow raised.

Trifecta narrows her eyes at all the adults present, picking up the feather in her mouth. This prompts a look from her sister. “‘Mysterious’ doesn’t suit you, Tri. Mind telling us what’s going on?”

“I’m going to say things and you’re going to listen,” Nitro speaks up plainly.

“Or else,” the filly adds.

“...are you threatening us?” Celosia’s look becomes a glare, before seeming to put the pieces together in her head, and quickly changes to an amused but curious expression. “Oh.”

“Just hear him out. He’s trying to help.” Her eyes go pleading before narrowing again.

Chalkboard rolls her eyes. “If it’s what I think it is, we’ve already told him it isn’t-” Before she finishes, Tri leaps over and starts tickling her ribs with the feather. The mare yelps as she falls over, giggling and laughing like mad. “S-Stop! Help!”

Her oppressor soon relents, pointing a hoof at her. “Shush until he’s done, please.”

By now, the group is all looking at Trifecta in fear or amusement, before their attention - Chalkboard’s included - is grabbed by Nitro clearing his throat. Pointing down at his map, he starts off bluntly. “If we don’t leave, we’ll be dead in three days.”

“...what?” Even Baggage looks surprised.

“The clones don’t just fly around Equestria randomly. They have a pattern, almost like they’re patrolling the country.” He moves his hoof to Vanhoover. “When I left here, the clones were just arriving. I hid outside the city limits, watching and waiting. Then I followed them.”

“But why-” Virus quickly shuts up as Trifecta presses the tip of the feather to his snout.

Nitro ignores the brief interruption. “I kept track of their speed, when they rested, and how their patterns changed depending on location or weather. I marked down the time it would take them to travel from each city to the next, depending on circumstances. I didn’t finally head off on my own until we had looped around to the ruins of Cloudsdale.” He turns the map to show them, although the various lines and scrawlings practically make the whole thing illegible. “And unless we get a sudden rainstorm or blizzard, based on previous speeds, they’ll be entering this city the day after tomorrow. And with how many of them there are, they’ll find us within a day.”

There’s a silence before Celosia slowly raises her hoof, glancing to her sister. “...can I ask a question without being tickled?”

She, in turn, looks to the colt. “Is it time for questions?”

He nods, and the unicorn mare takes that as a signal to speak. “If I’m understanding this map right, the clones are apparently… gathering?” She pokes a rather large scribble west of Baltimare. “Is that a meeting spot, or something?”

“I don’t know. It might be.” He shrugs. “There were too many for me to check it out. It’s definitely still dangerous, though.”

“I see...” She nods, seeming to understand. “Where are they headed after Fillydelphia?”

“Neighagra Falls. Then they split up, some going to Manehatten and some going back to Canterlot.” He traces the paths with his hooves as he speaks. “The ones in Manehatten go to the north after they’ve finished, so apparently even they aren’t giving up on the Crystal Empire.”

Virus looks as though he doesn’t know whether to be encouraged or worried by this. Baggage has a similar expression on his face as he speaks up. “If we’re going to move, we need to plan around them. If what you’re saying is true, going west to Ponyville is our best bet.”

Nitro shakes his head. “They’re always going back to Ponyville. I don’t know why, but all of their paths lead back to it shortly. Ponyville is the one place here that’s never empty.”

Trifecta’s ears fold back. “But… we were going there…”

Baggage grumbles. “We still can… there can’t be more than a few there at once, right?”

“There were maybe a couple dozen last time I was there.” Nitro taps the forest just by Ponyville. “They stayed around this place a lot. Only a few went on patrols at a time. If you stay away from the forest, and are good at hiding or fighting, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

The pegasus stallion nods and muses. “I wonder why they guard there that much…”

“The Mirror Pool.” Baggage sighs. “Apparently they make trips back there constantly to make more of themselves.”

“That makes sense.” Nitro finally rolls his map back up. “The point is we need to leave Fillydelphia as soon as possible before the clones get here.”

Pixie sighs heavily, looking to Chalkboard. “So much for settling down…”

The green pegasus, who had remained silent for so long, can only nod. “Nitro… I’m sorry we didn’t listen to you before… we - or I, at least - didn’t realize just how much thought you’d put in to everything...”

He shrugs. “At least you know now.”

“So we need to head west, unless we can tread water in the east for a week or so,” Celosia summarizes. “Trying to go north will get us cornered, going south will send us right into the gathering… and we’re going to Ponyville anyway, but we need to be careful there.” She looks at the two mares and the colt. “I guess you three will be sticking with us for a while longer, then. We’re going the same direction anyway.”

Pixie nods. “Meeting you has apparently saved us, so I won’t object to a little longer.”

“Right!” Chalkboard smiles, then blinks. “...where are you going after Ponyville?”

“That depends on if we find anything of use,” Baggage replies. “If we’re just back to square one, we’ll be going to the Cloudsdale ruins, more as a landmark than anything.”

“Still going for the Empire?” The teacher just shakes her head. “If you insist...”

He ignores her. “We should leave in the morning, make sure we have a good headstart. When we get to Ponyville, we’ll stick together and search every house we can. If the clones keep converging there, it’s unlikely the town’s been properly scavenged.” He thinks. “Just stay away from the forest. I don’t know why they’re guarding it, but we don’t want to try asking them to find out.”

Trifecta speaks up, sounding confused. “Why do they need to guard it anyway? If it’s some magic thing they all keep coming out of, what pony would go there?”

“Somepony with a death wish?” Chalkboard remarks. “But you’re right… you’d think they’d decide it’s safe enough just from their constant returns.” She looks to Nitro. “Any ideas?”

He shrugs. “I had the common sense to just stay away.”

Virus’s wings shuffle as he thinks. “The only reason to guard something is to protect it… if it needs protecting, it could have weaknesses…”

“...meaning it can be destroyed?” Celosia finishes, looking surprised. “How do you destroy a pool of water? Especially a magical one?”

“We don’t know, but apparently, there’s a way.” Baggage stands up. “But we’re not going to.”

“Why not?” The other stallion stands as well, his eyes narrowed.

“Look, if you want to wander right into clone territory with nothing to fight with but a machete, be my guest.” The earth pony shakes his head. “But I’m having no part in that. We’re survivors, not heroes. We’re going to Ponyville to look for information, and then we’re moving on.”

The pegasus slowly wilts as he sighs, looking to Celosia and Trifecta. “... you’re right. It won’t do anypony any good if we failed.” The filly walks over and hugs his leg.

“Then we stick to the plan.” Baggage nods. “Now, I suggest we get some rest. This room seems a little cramped for seven, so I’ll go bust open another suite or two. The rest of you can talk or whatever. We’ll split up when night falls to sleep, and we’ll meet back here in the morning. Everyone got that?”

They nod, and they all split up into their own groups - or, in Baggage’s case, on his own - to chat or take care of business.