Fading Light

It was silent. About an hour has gone by, every moment miniscule and uneventful. The whole trip was tedious, with only an occasional bump to break the silence every now and then. However, no one seemed to mind the silence. John enjoyed the quiet. It was only because he was driving, that he couldn’t lose himself in a trance of tranquillity.

Cody, on the other hand, decided to kill time with his favourite past time: Pokémon. Ever since he was a child, he has always been part of the pocket monster fandom. Though usually, he kept to himself with it. He was especially proud of himself when he found a DS car charger that he bought before the apocalypse.

Rainbow Dash, though easily bored, was lost in thought. She gazed out of the window where there was a beautiful countryside view. The sun was just about to set, placing itself on top of the grassy hills. The winter wind played with the grass, creating the illusion of the hills moving with the sunlight. Beyond the hills, there was an entrance to a forest. Trees lined up perfectly across the meadow, setting up a natural border between the areas. It reminded her of Equestria.

She thought of what her friends are doing right now. Most likely, by now they would’ve realized that she is missing. It would probably start off with a search party, and would probably gradually grow to the whole town of Ponyille looking for her. Eventually, events will end up with Twilight sending a letter to her beloved mentor, Princess Celestia. Then they will begin to search all of Equestria for her.

Only, I’m not in Equestria. She thought dreadfully. She broke her gaze from the window. Sadness overcame her, followed by guilt. Even though she disappeared on a completely coincidental accident, she couldn’t help but feel like she was abandoning them. She would be stuck here on her own when they may need her most. Who would be there when Twilight gets way over her head? Who would be there to help Rarity when she needs gems for her dresses? Who would be there to comfort Fluttershy when she is scared? Who would be there to pull off the most glorious prank with Pinkie Pie? Who would be there to hoof-wrestle with Applejack?

“Daw, fuck!” Cody cursed, snapping Dash from her thoughts.

“What the hell happened?” John asked with caution.

“This bastard just made my Charizard faint with his stupid Todile! Stupid wanker... “ He continued to throw curses at the computerized opponent before promptly rage quitting. John sighed.

“You get way too attached to those damn games.” He took a short glimpse outside. He grimaced slightly at the setting sun. “We are going to have to stop soon.” Cody took a look outside. He smiled at the setting sun even though he dreaded what followed after it. He shifted his eyes on their new companion, who also decided to enjoy the scenery.

“So, how did you get here in the first place?” He asked, wanting to feed his starving curiosity. Dash took her gaze from the window to the back of Cody’s seat.

“I... I don’t remember.” She replied with confusion. “One minute I was at home, and then I wake up here...” She trailed off, trying to remember what may have happened to the best of her ability. Cody turned to look out the front window. He squinted when he noticed something in the distance.

“John, I think those are-“

“I see them.” John interrupted. The car seemed to pick up speed. Rainbow Dash decided to see what they were talking about. Off in the distance, she could make out a couple of humans standing next to a similar car. The larger human, presumably male, clutched his hair tightly, as if he was worried about something.

“Are we going to pass them?” Cody asked with a notable sentiment in his voice.

“At a time like this, we have to.” He replied with no emotion. Dash didn’t like where this was going.

“We’re just going to leave them there? But they look like they need help!” She said angrily. Cody looked back at her with a frown.

“There’s nothing we can do for them, Dash. It’s getting dark, and we they will just waist our time.” He almost whispered.

“How can you say that?! We can’t just leave them here!”

“We can and we will. This is a cruel world, and only the fittest will survive.” John replied heartlessly.

Dash was about to say something, but Cody interrupted her with a hand. “He’s right, Dash. I know that it doesn’t seem fair, but that’s how the world works.”

She stayed silent. The car approached the survivors. For what was really a minute felt like an hour for her. They were now close enough to see their faces. She saw the expressions of hope and relief wash over their faces. The male waved his arms to catch the attention of the passengers in the car. She saw the smile on his face when they approached closer and closer to him.

Then she saw the immediate change from relief to anxiety when he knew they weren’t slowing down.

She closed her eyes and tried her best to ignore them. She still heard his desperate cries for help.

“HEY! STOP! HEEEEEYY!!”

She folded her ears in an attempt to block him out. It only lasted a couple of short seconds, but it was enough to affect her. She opened her eyes, and looked at the back of the car. She saw the male on his knees, being comforted by another human who was female.

“We could’ve helped them...” She whispered to herself. “We could’ve...”

Cody looked back at her. He felt sorry for her. It almost reminded him of when he had to first witness all the death and hopelessness around him. Wherever this “Equestria” was, it was obviously peaceful. Too peaceful in fact, since she voluntarily wanted to help complete strangers in the first place.

John continued to drive down the road with an uninterrupted gaze, following the twists and turns that showed up.

It was silent once again.

“Let’s stop here.” John said as he pulled up in the middle of scattered trees next to the road. It’s been a long hour for Dash. All she could think about was those two survivors who her companions easily abandoned.

“Right. Hey, Dash...” Cody snapped her from her thoughts. She noticed that John was nailing down a thick wooden board on the window beside him. She turned her head towards Cody, who held a hammer and some large nails. “Can you scoot over?”

She nodded, and shifted more towards the door, giving room for Cody the crawl in. He squeezed in, consequently waking Anya up. He patted her head as he worked. He lifted up a wooded board from the back of the seats and covered the back window. He placed the nails haphazardly along the top of the board.

“What are you guys doing?” Dash nearly yelled over the noise. Cody finished with the last nail before answering her.

“Remember those ghouls at the shop?” She winced at the mention of those horrific abominations. “I bet that’s a yes. Well, they hate sunlight, which we are about to lose. And they get very hungry during the day...” He trailed off, grabbing another board and some nails from his seat.

“So those... monsters are going to come here at night?” She asked fearfully. She did not want another encounter with one of those things ever again.

“Unfortunately, yes.” John replied while nailing down his final board. “We are going to sleep in here tonight, so listen carefully...” He sighed. “No matter what happens, you must stay absolutely quiet. Do not make a single sound whatsoever. Got it?” There was fear in his voice, which didn’t help to ease her.

“Yeah... yeah, I got it.” She replied.

“Excuse me, miss.” Cody said as he reached over Dash to place the final board. The lighting in the car was reduced drastically. She heard Cody shift back into his seat. There was a rustling, followed by clanging metal. John stroked a match and lit the lantern, allowing the car to light up dimly. She was about to say something, but John beat her to it.

“Don’t worry. The light is too dim to be seen through the boards.” He reassured. He placed the lantern on top of the dashboard. He tilted the seat to a comfortable position. “Alright. Everyone stay quiet.” He ordered before he went into a deep sleep.

Cody fumbled around with the glove box. Miscellaneous items scattered on the floor as he continued searching for his prize. It took him awhile to find a pair of black earmuffs. He quietly handed them to Rainbow Dash.

“Here.” Dash took the muffs with slight confusion at first. “I used them on my first night.” He smiled. “As long as we be quiet, we’ll be fine.” He assured. Dash wrapped the muffs over ears. Cody smiled with one thumb up. He adjusted his chair to his liking before drifting off to sleep.

Dash curled up next to Anya. It took her a while for her to get settled into a mood for sleep. She did not want to think about the events of that day. For a moment, images of the ghoul flashed in her mind. She shook them off, using all of her willpower to focus on the warm thoughts of Equestria. These optimistic thoughts eventually made her sleep peacefully.

Sirens sped downs the streets of the rural town, waking up anyone who wasn’t already packing to leave. A family was already heading out of the door. A man and his two children walked quickly down the stairs, where another man was waiting next to his silver coup.

“Where the hell were you, John? I tried calling you.” He said anxiously.

“All of the telephone lines are out. The power too.” John replied. He opened the back door, where he placed travelling bags on the floor. “Come on kids. We’re leaving with Uncle Cody.” He ordered his children as calmly as he could.”

“Hi, Anya!” The boy said happily as the German Sheppard licked him forcefully.

“I wanna pet her too, Alex!” The girl whined as she climbed in the car.

“Let’s go. I’m driving.” Cody said as he started the engine. John soon entered the passenger seat.

“Where are we going?”

“Anywhere that’s not England. They’re about to lockdown the island.” Cody replied as he backed out from the driveway.

“The whole island?!” John’s calmness was sinking exponentially. “Is it that bad?”

“Daddy, where are we going?” His daughter asked. “Are we going to see Mommy?”

“No, Mabel, no. We’re not going to see Mommy.” He answered. “Where are we going, Cody?” He asked with the hope of an actual answer.

“I don’t know. Some guy from America called you-“

“What guy?”

“He said... He said his name was Donald Gonzalez.” John knew exactly who the name belonged to.

“I know him. We went to the same med school.” Police cars sped past them on the opposite side of the road. “Why does he want me to go to America?”

“He said something about a cure, but there is no chance we can get there. The airports are closed, and they’re only sending ferries into Europe.” Cody replied, not taking his eyes off the road.

“Then we’ll find an airport in Europe.” John said, making up his mind to go to America.

They drove for a while, the children giggled as they took turns to stroke the dog. Other than that, the silence was antagonizing. Soon enough, they were caught in traffic.

“Shit.” Cody muttered under his breath.

“Jesus, how many of them are there.” John gazed at the numerous rows of lights the lit up the night. It was almost as if the stars fell from the sky, and landed in the middle of the motorway.

“Everyone and their mums, apparently.”

“Is there a shorter way to get there?” John asked cautiously.

“Yeah, there is. But it is also most likely crowded.”

“Just get there.” The car backed up from the line of cars and left them.

“Daddy? Can we listen to some music?” Alex asked his father.

“Yeah, sure thing.” He flipped the switch to turn on the radio. Instead of music, there was an emergency broadcasting, including the terrifying drone noises before the message.

“Evacuations are to be ended promptly at twelve thirty on June twenty-third, two thousand sixteen. All citizens are to be asked to take only what is necessary for survival. This is a nation-wide alert-“ John abruptly cut the radio off.

“Just how bad is this?” John whispered.

“Very bad. They said that more than a hundred people were eaten ali-“

“Cody...” John reminded him of the young ears in the back of the vehicle.

“Right... sorry.” They stopped at a red light in the middle of an intersection.

“We need to get out of here right no-“ John was interrupted by what seemed like a crazed madman bashing his passenger window. The children were screaming as it pounded the window with sheer force. Anya barked and snarled, ready to protect her companions by any means necessary.

“CODY! DRIVE DAMN IT!!” John yelled over his kid’s terrified shrieks. Cody stomped on the gas, and the tires squealed in response. They sped away as more than one creature chased them on foot.

John woke up suddenly in a flash sweat. He examined his surroundings and took a sighed as he realized he was still in the car. Everyone was still asleep, included their new four-legged companion they found. His watch beeped repeatedly, indicating that it was seven in the morning. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, and proceeded to shake Cody awake. He woke up quickly.

“Good morning...” He said groggily. He opened the door to let sunlight inside. He slowly got outside and stretched. “Ah... warm sunlight.”

“You seem happy today...” John mused as he opened the trunk and exited the car.

“Yeah. I met a new friend yesterday. No offence, but talking to you can be boring after a while.” Cody cracked his neck and knuckles. “Speaking of which, you want me to wake her up?

John took his rifle and his rucksack from the trunk. He moved towards the front of the car and stared at Dash sleeping through the opened door. He saw her rising and falling with each silent breath she took.

“No. Let her sleep.” He took out a saw and some duct tape from his bag. He started sawing the metal stock off the rifle. “Besides, she needs to be focused when I teach her how to shoot.”

“You’re going to do what?” The stock popped off with an audible snap.

“I’m going to teach her how to shoot a sniper rifle. I told you, she’s not going to be dead weight. She can also be a good spotter with those wings of hers...” He trailed off, continuing to modify the rifle. Cody kicked a rock into the street.

“So what am I going to do until she wakes up?” Cody asked, almost irritated.

“You can take the boards down.” John said plainly as he removed the trigger guard.

“Aye aye, skipper.” Cody gave him a sarcastic salute as he entered the vehicle. Anya woke up from their conversation and left the car from the opened door. She stretched and seemingly smiled when she saw her owner. Cod gave her a pat on the head. “Good morning, girl.”

She wagged her tail at the greeting he gave her every morning. She walked over to John, who was taping a curved piece of metal on to the trigger. She licked his side to catch his attention.

“How are you, Anya?” John greeted as he worked. He took a second to stroke her ear with a free hand. He smiled. “Are you ready to go to the city today?” She didn’t respond, but kept panting. “I’m busy right now, girl.” He strapped a thick cloth at the end of the broken stock.

Anya seemed to get the message, and walked away. She hopped back in the car, where Cody was busy taking the boards down. She glanced at the sleeping pony in the back of the car. Since she was a new member of the group, it was up to Anya to protect her. She needed her scent to do that.

She moved towards the back seat. There was a loud snap when Cody ripped a nail from the board. Anya started sniffing Dash violently, pressing her nose against her face and in her mane. She mumbles something in her sleep. Eventually, Anya removed the muffs that covered her ears.

“Anya! That’s rude! Let the girl sleep.” Cody snapped. Anya obeyed, and approached her owner, still panting. His shouting was enough to wake up Dash completely.

“Huh... what?” She asked as her senses were returning to her. She rubbed her eyes. In her sleep, she wanted all those events to be merely a dream. Unfortunately, she awoke in the same car from the night before.

“You’re awake now... Good morning.” Cody removed the last nail from the board, which then fell on in between the seat and the door.

“Yeah... good morning.” Dash rubbed the tiredness from her eyes. Cody chuckled.

“You still sound tired.” He mused. He moved to the back seat to take down the net board. “John is waiting for you outside. He wants to... teach you something.” He said as he worked. Dash just scoffed. Cody turned around to look at her. “You know, he’s a good man once you get to know him. Smart too.”

“Yeah... right.” Dash said sarcastically as she exited the car.

The morning was more or less beautiful. The sunlight pierced through the branches of the trees, offering little warmth against the cold winter air. There was an empty field on the other side of the road, glistening with dew. It was a good sight to wake up to.

John held an item awkwardly in his arms. He stared into the telescope attached to the top of it. There was a single explosion followed by shattered glass. Dash turned to find the source of the glass. There was an abandoned car in the middle of the road, now with one less window.

“Good, you’re awake.” John said, almost cheery. “Come here. You’re going to learn how to shoot this.” He held out the object. Dash approached him. He positioned himself on his stomach and held the rifle to his eye again.

“Um... what are you doing?” She asked, almost snickering at how awkward held the gun while prone.

“Get in this position.”

“Wha-“

“Just do it.” She obeyed him, and positioned herself next to him. He handed her the rifle.

“Put the padded end at your shoulder, and make sure you can see through the scope clearly.” She took the rifle from him. It felt natural when she held it. John pointed at a tiny button next to the curved lever. “This is your safety. Right now, your safety is on. Keep it that way unless you want to shoot something, got it?”

“Yeah... I think so.”

“Good. Now press it.” She reached out and pushed the button, which was followed by a small click. Another button popped from the opposite side of the gun. It was painted red. “Alright, now it’s armed. Now, you see that red dot in the scope?”

She nodded. It was really essentially a small telescope attached to it. Inside there was a crosshair with the said red dot at the centre. “Point the red dot on the car window.” She did so, manipulating the position of the rifle on her target. “Good. Now pull the trigger to shoot the window. Oh, and keep in mind, we don’t have all the bullets in the world, so... try not to miss.”

She placed the dot on the fragile car window. She assumed the lever on the bottom of the gun was the “trigger”. She took a deep breath. Once she pulled the trigger, the gun jumped back and pushed against her shoulder.

“Good shot. Now shoot that one.” He pointed to her next target. There was another abandoned car, a little further away than the first car. “Try to get the front windshield. This one is farther, so gravity and wind will affect where the bullet goes.” He explained.

She did the same procedure as before, but this time aimed just above it, adding gravity to the equation. Just as before, the gun pushed her shoulder when she shot.

“Nice! You’re a natural at this.” Dash smiled with pride. “Now press this small button here.” He pointed to a near invisible button in the middle of the gun. Once she pressed it, the box attached to the bottom of the gun fell off, revealing the brass spikes within. John took a cardboard box and opened it. The same brass spikes were in the box.

“This is the only magazine I have for the gun, so you have to load it manually.” He took the metal box and a single brass spike. “All you have to do is slide it in here like this...” It almost took no effort for him to load it. “Here... you have ten shots in total, so load two more."

She took one spike with her hoof, and attempted to slide it in the magazine like John. It was easy without the dexterity of fingers, but she managed to do it. “Last thing... Put the mag in the gun, then pull this thing until it clicks, then let go.” He tapped a round piece of metal that protruded from the gun.

Once again, she followed his instructions. Once she heard the click, she released it. It slid to its original position with another click. “And that’s it. Put the safety on, and get ready to go.” He stood up. Dash stood up after him.

“Where are we going?” She asked as she struggled to strap the rifle on her.

“We’re going to a city called Essen to scavenge supplies...” He noticed her struggle with the strap. “Need help with that?” He sat on his knees, and took the strap. He tightened it just a little. “Can you lift your uh... wing please?” She blushed slightly.

“Um... why? What are you going to do?” She asked with embarrassment.

“I’m going to place the gun under it... what’s wrong with that?” He lifted his eyebrow in confusion.

“Um... nothing...” She lifted her wing. He slid the gun under her opened wing and tightened the strap some more. The gun drooped, but it never touched the ground. “Thanks.” She stared into his eyes. They were like sparkling emeralds in the sunlight.

“Don’t mention it.” He approached the car, where Cody had just finished taking down the boards. He was panting from the work.

“So... you guys are... done.” He wiped the top of his head instinctively, but the cold didn’t allow him to sweat.

“Yeah, all we need now is a ghillie suit to cover her up. Unless she can hide in a cloud.” He joked to himself.

“I can do that.” Dash said, trying to get use to the gun’s weight.

“No shit, really?”She nodded. “Then disregard what I said.” He took his rucksack from the hood of the car.

“Hah, if you think standing on a cloud is cool, just wait till I show all the other awesome things I can do.” She smiled proudly, flapping her wings for emphasis.

“Yeah, sure. Everyone just get in the car.” He ordered as he closed the trunk. Dash, Cody, and Anya sat in the same places as last time, patiently waiting for John to order them with another trivial task. He entered the car and started the engine.

“Our next stop is Essen. It’s a pretty decent sized city, so stay close together, and don’t go into any buildings without sunlight touching the inside. Got it?”

“Aye aye, skipper.” Cody saluted.

“Yeah, I got it.” Dash replied, struggling to push the sniffing dog away from her face.

“Let’s go” He whispered.

In a few moments, the car left the forest. They sped into the outskirts of the city, where tall, broken buildings stood. Dash thought that they would look amazing when they were repaired, and if the excess foliage that covered them was removed. Cody received a CD from a sleeved from the sunshield attached to the roof of the car. He turned on the radio, inserted the disk, and switched it to his favourite song.

“Seriously, Cody?” John deadpanned.

“It’s a classic.”

Dash ignored there argument to listen to the weird guitar noises along with lyrics. Ironically, it was the perfect song for the world she was now in.