A Waste of a World

This was a very desperate time for everyone.

That's what a civil war does to you. It makes you feel desperate pretty much for anything. But you can't let that get in the way, because sooner or later you're going to regret it. With your life. I've learned that after a few close calls myself.

My name is Brady, and I've been stuck in this war for almost four and a half years now. The Earthodites, or Earth Ponies, have been fighting against the Unicorns non-stop. What side am I on? Neither. So are the Pegasi. I'm actually a human here in Equestria, or Famathine now. We're all outcasts, looked down upon by both sides of the war. I didn't care, because my master plan was almost figured out, and when it was complete, the tables would turn. Hopefully. Anyway, I'm taking refuge in an abandoned house here in what's left of Ponyville. At least eighty percent of the town was in heaps of rubble, only a few houses and shops survived, which have all been looted completely by who knows who.

I miss this town. This place is where I made my friends and memories at. Now the town was a memory as well. I lit a candle I found in a nearby drawer and placed it on the kitchen counter. I was planning on hunkering down here for the night, being that no one really comes to this side of Famathine these days now. The only ones that do are the ones that are just so tired of war that they just keep walking away until they can't go any further.

Placing my bag on the dusty table, I unzipped it and pulled out my sleeping bag. It was fairly cold tonight, so I pulled out some of my special elixir as well and took a sip, making my whole body adapt so that it felt like spring insted of winter. I guess you could say that I'm well prepared, but I'm just one of the lucky ones that has a firm mind and can endure through a lot.

So what happened to the Princesses you ask?

Simple, They're dead.

Well, Luna and Celestia anyway. Twilight is still alive but her whereabouts are unknown. She hasn't been heard from ever since the Princesses got assassinated by the leader of the Earthonians. I was there when it happened too.

It was the annual Summer Sun Celebration which was being held in Canterlot. Celestia was giving a speech with Luna and then all of the sudden a hooded pony hopped up on the stage and stabbed Celestia right through her necklace. Everyone began screaming and running as the assassin pulled out her sword, now covered in the royal blood of a princess. With a blinding slash, Luna had just enough time to clutch where she'd been slashed at her throat with her hoof before falling to the ground and dying in a pool of her own blood. The guards didn't nearly have enough time to catch her. Before they were even fifty feet away from the stage, the hooded figure leapt onto the nearest balcony and disappeared from the crime scene. And that's what started the Earthonian Revolution.

All the Unicorn leaders in Equestria got together which was known as the First Act. They agreed and signed a pact stating that they will terminate anyone who is involved with the Earthonians. The Pegasi decided that they didn't want to have any part in it, so they packed up and headed to Las Pegasus, where they tried to still have a good time.

It was fairly hard, considering that one in every third pony you meet is most likely associated with the Earthonians in some way. Murder happened daily, and the Earthonians went around and slaughtered anyone who refused to join them. The Peagasi eventually left, but they didn't exactly know where to go after that. To this day, most of them just wander around aimlessly, not sure of what to do next.

Some were able to join forces with the Unicorns, where they are trained to be spies and figure out the Earthonian's strategies. Others became mercenaries, which accept any side, as long as they get paid. The rest just do their own thing I suppose. That's basically what I'm doing right now. At the moment anyway.

I found a somewhat comfortable spot on the floor and snuggled into my sleeping bag. As ususal, when I'm about to go to sleep, a bunch of questions arise in my head. Will I die tomorrow? How much longer will the war last? Will I ever meet someone that doesn't want to kill me? Eventually I got too tired to listen to myself and fell into a deep, well deserved sleep.

I awoke to the sound of the front door of the house I was in open, making me grab my sword from right beside me.

There were hoofsteps from a pony from what I could tell, and there were about three of them, maybe more. I slowly stood up and walked toward the doorway.

Taking a peek out into the dining room, I saw an orange pony with blonde hair. She had no horn, and no wings. An Earthonian. Not all earth ponies were Earthonians though, but a huge majority of them were. There was also a sky blue colored pegasus with a rainbow striped mane.

Wait.

A rainbow striped mane? It couldn't be. That means the orange earth pony is...

No.

They were dead. I was sure of it.

Was I?

Lowering my sword, I cracked open the door a little more, revealing the third pony of the group: Princess Twilight Sparkle, my bestest friend ever. At least, before the war started.

I dropped my sword and opened the door all the way, making the three unsuspecting ponies jerk their heads in my direction. Twilight's jaw dropped as far as it could go, and her pupils widened until most of her eyes were black. Rainbow and Applejack too. There were several seconds of silence before Twilight ran up to me and gave me a powerful squeeze. She started crying on my shoulder, and I returned the hug with the same amount of force.

"I-I can't believe it! You're alive!" She said between sobs.

My own eyes began to swell with tears. Rainbow Dash and Applejack finally joined in to the hug after they finally figured out what had just happened. I let my tears fall and we embraced each other for several minutes.

"I missed you guys," I said, giving them one last squeeze before letting them go.

Our reunion didn't last long though. I saw a silhouette through one of the windows, which made me force Twilight's head down. Applejack and Rainbow did the same almost out of instinct.

"Twelve o' clock," I whispered to them, making them snap into gear.

I was so glad I found them. It made me feel some hope in all of this. Friendship is really rare to come across these days, and honestly, I thought there was none left... Until now.

Rainbow pulled something out from under one of her wings, which looked like some kind of glove. When she put it on her hoof did I realize that it had a three inch long blade shaped like a tiger's claw on the front of it. Applejack had the same weapon, but her blade was also serrated with several fine teeth.

"Guess you guys have been doing this for a while huh?" I said reaching for my own weapon.

"Heh, yeah..." Twilight answered.

I was going to ask her where she was all these years and why she didn't take me along, but decided that this wasn't really the best time to get into that now.

We neared the window together and took a peek outside, where we saw no trace of the silhouette I saw earlier.

"I'll head out first," I informed them heading towards the front door.

They nodded and watched me as I headed out. A cool breeze instantly hit me when I got outside, and I popped up my hood of my jacket before I proceeded. I went around to the window the ponies were looking out of and notified them that it was clear to head out of the house. Again they nodded and went outside where they came to my side. We scanned the area of where the figure could have gone, but found no trace, not even hoofsteps, of where it went.

"That's odd," Twilight said, analyzing the ground of where there should have been prints.

"What do you think it could have been?" I asked, taking a look for myself.

"Well, it was shaped like a pony no doubt, and only Pegasi and some Unicorns can hover like that," she explained.

I recalled back to when I first saw the silhouette and remembered that it did not have wings. I told her what I remembered, making her stop staring at the ground, but began staring at the few standing buildings between us and the Everfree Forest.

The forest. It doesn't scare anyone anymore. Now it's just a dark place full of trees to most ponies. That's how different this world has gotten because of this war. I shook my head without knowing it because of what I was thinking about.

"We should check these buildings," Rainbow said, hovering off the ground by a few inches.

The others agreed and so did I, so we went to the nearest one: Sugarcube Corner.

It surprised me that this building was still standing.

Most of it's supports were either snapped in half or burnt to ashes. All of it's windows were smashed and there were several holes in the walls.

This place was like my home away from home. It's treats and Pinkie Pie always cheered me up whenever I was feeling down or lonely. I even used to hang out with Mr. and Mrs. Cake's babies sometimes. By now they're probably already learning how to defend themselves in case they were ambushed by a group of Earthonians or Pegasi mercenaries.

I sighed and entered through the badly damaged doorway, where I was greeted by almost getting hit on the head with a piece of wood that fell from the ceiling.

I crouched down and headed for the kitchen with Applejack, while Twilight and Rainbow went up the stairs. Reaching the door, I looked at Applejack and signaled to her that I was going to count to three, where we'll jump in at the same time. She nodded and watched me closely. With just one finger up, I stopped counting when I heard what sounded like plastic crumpling. I changed our strategy and told her that we were going to sneak inside instead. Opening the door slightly, I quietly stepped into the kitchen and hid behind a cupboard, making me only a few feet away from the source of the noise. Applejack joined me and we listened for a little longer. It moved around some pots and some other bags, and then finally started to head for the door, where I leapt out and stopped it before it passed me. A loud, girly shriek escaped from it as I pinned it to the ground and pointed my blade at it's throat.

"Please don't hurt me! I was just looking for some food!" she said.

That voice sounded extremely familiar, but I couldn't tell who it was though.

That's what happens when you're on your own for four years not talking to anyone, your memories start to get a little fuzzy. I saw a glimpse of some blue hair, where I then knew who it was.

Taking off the hood she was wearing, I looked into the eyes of Rarity.