Roommates [Old Version]

Pain filled my body, the full consequences of exceeding the limits of my physique was now catching up to me... Adrenaline was depleting, pain seeped into my very core, and the fact that I was bleeding profusely from my gunshot wound didn't make anything better, especially since I was starting to get groggy.

I laid there, the cold air chewing on my flesh, digging down into my muscle and bone. The only sense of warmth I had was the manticore I was now laying against, breathing weakly as my gaze locked with the skies above. Silence consumed the air around us, me and this beast both broken by sadistic captors.

"I'm sorry..." I spoke in a strained whisper, my eyes burning slightly.

The manticore raised its head, looking at me quizzically.

"I'm so sorry..." I spoke again, tears beginning to fill my eyes.

The manticore simply stared at me, examining me closely, its ears perked up in attendance.

"I wanted to apologize to the last living thing I hurt unlawfully before I perish..." I spoke as I began to stand up, panting heavily, wincing in pain as my gunshot wound shot immense pain throughout my leg.

The beast watched me as I stood, a cautious air surrounding it as I approached it.

"The least I could do... Is help you out of this mess..." I spoke, reaching down and grasping the beast around the waist.

As quickly as I could, I heaved the manticore's hind legs onto my shoulders, making it stand upright as I approached the wall of the pit. With my boost, the manticore should be able to stretch its way far enough to get a grip of the pit's ledge. The beast let out a surprised yip once I raised it off the ground, with struggle of course. The manticore weighed possibly five-hundred pounds or more, I could already feel my body screaming at me for this physical torture of lifting such a heavy thing. Seeming to comprehend my gesture,  and clutched the ledge of the pit, gradually climbing its way out.

I smiled in relief as the creature climbed out. It looked down at me, examining me with what I would assume confusion. I simply gave it a smile, before laying flat out on my back, letting my body seep into the soft mud beneath me, finally able to relax my burning muscles at last. I closed my eyes, listening to the sound of the manticore run as far away from this hell hole as possible, which gave me a warm satisfaction within my chest- a sense of closure for this agonizing trial.

"Psst!" I heard a voice whisper from above the pit.

"Huh...?" I choked out, forcing one of my eyes open weakly, wincing from the light of the sun peering down at me.

"Hey, big guy!" I heard the voice again, it was effeminate yet still retained a strong tone.

As my vision cleared, I was able to make out a shape. It was that griffin from before, I believe her name was Verna.

"What... Are you doing?" I asked, my voice weak from exhaustion.

"Getting you out of here!" she squawked back quietly, rolling a sturdy rope latter over the edge of the pit's entrance.

"Where are all the mercs?" I asked, forcing myself up, wincing as I felt the bullet in my leg move around in my deep muscle tissue.

"They're all focused on Celestia's forces" Verna replied, watching me with concern as I struggled to pull myself up the latter, pain throbbing through my body like a heartbeat.

"Celestia's forces...? You mean she's raiding the camp!?" I asked in surprise, Verna gave me a nod of acknowledgement while helping me pull myself out of the pit, collapsing to the ground, breathing heavily.

"Jesus you're heavy" Verna groaned, trying to catch her breath.

"Most of the weight is in my dick" I simply responded, chortling softly.

"Shaddup" she grumbled, casting a glare over in my direction.

"Whatever..." I mumbled, letting out a sigh.

"So, any idea on where we should go?" Verna asked, glancing over at me.

"We? Don't you mean you?" I replied, causing her to cast me a confusing stare.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I'm losing a lot of blood as it is, I'm wounded, and I'm too exhausted to walk on my own... You'll get out faster without me" I explained, gesturing to the wounds inflicted to my body.

"You saved me from those creeps the first day you got here, you stood up to that psycho-bitch Red, I owe you!" she argued, slowly pulling herself up along with me.

"Consider you getting out safely a full payment of whatever debt you have pertaining to me" I replied, struggling to stand up right.

"Shut it, I don't give a damn what you say I'm getting us both out of here!" Verna squawked, glaring over at me before helping me towards the medical tents.

"The medical tents have some sort of healing spell casted on them right? You'll be able to heal if you rest there for a short while?" Verna asked, slowly setting me down on one of the gurneys inside the tent.

"Yeah..." I groaned, already feeling the magical tingling sensation flowing through my body.

I bit my lower lip, groaning in pain,  clenching my fists as tightly as I could. Although this tent is designed to heal, it didn't do much for the pain. I nearly broke my own hand from clenching it so hard while the bullets that were lodged inside my deep muscle were slowly pulled out by the magic.  Verna simply watched with a concerned expression, every so often she would glance around to see if there were anybody coming before returning to the gurney I was resting on.

As soon as I felt the last of my wounds close up, scarring over, I managed to force myself into an upright position on the gurney, wincing slightly. My wounds were sealed, the bleeding has stopped, and I could manage to walk on my own; however I have lost a good few cup-fulls of blood, which made me even more groggy than I usually am in the morning.

Verna helped me off the gurney, giving me a few pats on the back. "Lets get you to Celestia's forces, they'll fix you up better" she explained, giving me an encouraging smile before walking with me out of the tent, and towards the outer rim of the large campgrounds.

"I'm more concerned about getting you to safety" I spoke, chortling a bit softly.

"Oh shut your trap, just because I'm a hen doesn't mean I'm weak!" she harrumphed, narrowing her gaze.

"I never said that, I've had my ass handed to me plenty of times by a girl" I replied, a nostalgic smile crossing my lips.

"Who?" she asked curiously, raising a brow.

"My sister" I replied.

__________________

"Jessica?" Harold spoke, a smile worn on his aged face.

"Yes dad?" Jessica smiled, approaching her elderly father- a big human "V" of a man, but elderly nonetheless.

"I want you to take care of your big brother Walter now, you know how he has a thing for getting in trouble" Harold spoke softly, gently giving his youngest child a fatherly hug.

"I will dad, I'll be sure to send lots of pictures too!" Jessica spoke, a wide smile on her face as she returned the hug to her father.

"Alright then sweetie, you better get going to the station- I don't want you to miss the train!" Harold chuckled, giving his young daughter a kiss on the head.

"Okay dad, goodbye!" Jessica spoke, giving her father one more hug before taking off toward the train station.

After arriving at the train station, settling things with tickets and what not, Jessica relaxed into a booth where she gazed out the window to her right, watching as the landscape outside flies by her in a steady yet fast motion.

It has been a long time since Jessica has seen her elder brother Walter, ever since the eldest brother of the three siblings died, Walter and Jessica only had each other for leverage- although Walter seemed to carry most of the burden with him.

Jessica couldn't help but always feel concerned for Walter; as a young teenage boy Walter had left the human settlement to build a life for himself. Jessica couldn't remember a lot of the past, but from what she could recall Walter has always been the stray in the spotlight. He was the prodigy child that followed the rules and went with the flow most of the time, unlike the once oldest brother Michael.

Michael was the complete opposite of Walter; when Walter worked on his grades and expressed his creativity within the boundaries, Michael was... Well, not. Michael was known for his infamous toxic attitude, one minute he loves you and the second minute he wants to murder you- guess that's the outcome when you start drinking and doing drugs at the age of fifteen.

Although they were opposites, Walter and Michael still loved each other as brothers should- even though their differences caused more conflicts than wanted. As the years passed and age did its deal on Walter and Michael, Walter seemed to grow up faster than Michael- both physically and mentally. Walter had pretty much turned into the bigger brother who learned from his and others mistakes, while Michael... Didn't.

Moving on...

It has been many hours since Jessica boarded the train, and she had just arrived in Ponyville- where her only sibling resided. She had heard lately that he got into SRA, a very notorious school known for birthing all sorts of important ponies and humans. Since she was surprising Walter, she decided to track down SRA and find out where her big brother is. Her birthday was tomorrow, and she wanted to spend it with her brother; you only turn eighteen once, right?

Jessica arrived at SRA, and immediately felt like something was off. Everybody seemed... Gloomy. She glanced at a few on passers, before she stopped one for directions- a large stallion male with a red coat with a sandy blonde mane and green eyes.

"Excuse me, do you know where I could find Walter Barnes?" she asked, smiling up at the tall stallion.

"Who are you?" he asked with a thick southern drawl.

"I'm Jessica Barnes, his younger sister" she replied, smiling.

"Oh my Celestia..." the stallion spoke, his eyes becoming wide. "I didn't know he had a sister- quick, you have to come with me!" he spoke, taking me hand, leading me through the courtyard and towards what appeared to be a hospital in the distance.

"What? What's wrong?" Jessica asked, confusion slowly turning to concern once she spotted the hospital.

"It's your brother, Walter" the stallion replied, causing Jessica's heart to skip a beat.

"What about him?" she asked, fear rising in her chest.

"He's dying"