Happy Days Gone By

by DuskyNightfall

Rating: mature
Tags: Adventure, Dark
Length: 6205

Ponies, guns, and zombies. It's survival of the fittest. The weak feed the strong and in this case, the weak will feed the infected.

It's the year 2184. Equestria is a lifeless, barren wasteland full of flesh-eating undead ponies and other still unknown yet equally as terrifying dangers. Ponykind is rapidly approaching an inevitable extinction. All hope is extinguished and lost. The end days are now.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2015-02-08 01:40:22 UTC

Prologue: History Lesson

"Not too many ponies know the history of what happened to Equestria. Why the world we live in is how it is and how those things we all fear were created. I suppose a lot of the ponies just didn't think it was necessary knowledge or maybe they simply didn't want to learn it. I personally believe that maybe they're all just afraid and scared to. Anyways, a few years back when I was a colt, I was one of the few ponies in my Settlement who actually wanted to learn a bit more about our situation other than "If it moans, groans, shambles and looks fucking bloodthirsty then shoot it in the head!" or "If you get shot at, shoot back!". As helpful as these little tidbits of advice were, I wanted to know what happened. What really happened all those years ago. Not that sugar coated crap my school teacher fed me. Even if I asked him about it he'd just tell me that I was too young to know the truth. But after several weeks of begging the local historian to death, she finally cracked and attempted to explain to me as much as she could while also making sure that my little head could understand everything she was saying."

"We don't exactly know what happened out here in the wasteland as it's much too dangerous for us to leave our homes and explore the landscape for answers.  But thanks to the caravan leaders that donated many hoofwritten records that were left behind before and after the 'event' to our Settlement, we were able to make educated guesses and assumptions as to what happened. Now I'll repeat myself and say it again. What I'm about to tell you is what we assume had happened. We had to make guesses so of course it won't be one hundred percent accurate. Just bear with me, alright? Okay good. Let's begin.

"A century and some decades ago during the summer of 2004, a company was founded in Canterlot, the capital of Equestria. This company was apparently named Sunny Smiles Inc. and the purpose of this organization was simple. They wished to act as a research facility of sorts to create drugs, remedies, and cures for ailing ponies of various sicknesses and cancers. And that's what they did.

"Clinics had sprung up all over Equestria and for many years the doctors of Sunny Smiles Inc. administered drugs and the like to the bedridden. And in days said ponies were healthy and they could once again walk. Young foals who were diagnosed with cancers were cured and they could live long carefree lives. Yet no one knew how this company could perform such medical miracles but they could and from what I can tell from the memos, everypony was very grateful. At least, at first they were.

"On September 1st, 2008, 6:01pm, a horrible incident had occurred. It had appeared that every single patient of Sunny Smiles Inc. had fallen ill on short notice and before any of the doctors from the clinics could see what was wrong with them, the patients had died right before their eyes. Though grief and anger had been short lived as almost a few short hours later, it was reported that the once dead patients were *revived somehow. It was a scientific impossibility but they were indeed alive. But it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows for them...*

"It had appeared that the 'revived' victims had attempted to bite anyone who got close to them. It was like a virus because that was exactly what it was. The ponies who were bit had then become horribly ill themselves and within minutes they too died. And then of course, they were reanimated as well. It spread like a wildfire all over Equestria, everypony panicked. There were riots and anarchy all over the streets of cities and towns. Large groups of infectees were overrunning the land and it was also reported that those packs of carnivorous ponies ripped apart their victims and ate them piece by piece. By this time it was far too late to stop the virus from spreading any further and so Equestria was lost.

"It is unknown to us if the virus had managed to infect neighboring countries but we are fairly certain that it has. Ponykind is stubborn, as you can see. We've managed to survive the apocalypse and since then our kind has erected towns and cities across the wasteland like the Settlement we call home. But nothing has ever been discovered about Sunny Smiles Inc. We don't know how they caused the infection. All we know is that they did. Maybe someday we'll be able to find the answers but at this point in time, we all just need to focus on surviving. At any rate, that's about it. Happy and content now?"

"I remember that I wasn't at all happy. In fact, I felt absolutely horrified to learn the truth. But I felt better that I knew about it even though it gave me nightmares for weeks after. But now I was curious. I wanted to know more. I wanted to know why this had happened in the first place. Was it an accident? Or was it intentional? So many questions flooded my mind then and even now they linger in my head. If I could, I would try and seek out the answers myself. Though I'm smart and I know that I would never survive out there in the wasteland. I've never even had the intention of leaving. No. Here in the Settlement where I've lived all my life, I was safe. Safe and more importantly alive. So why would I leave the comforts of home to go on a useless so-called adventure to acquire answers to questions that didn't mean a damned thing?

"But little did I know, I would be leaving my home.

"Whether I liked it or not. "

Chapter One: Running Away

"You'll never survive out there y'know. You're much too weak."

2184, July 30th, 2:30pm

Bored.

I was sitting at my shoddy desk in the old, nearly ruined schoolhouse along with a dozen of other ponies my age listening to an incredibly long and boring lecture about the world beyond the large gates of our secluded Settlement. To be honest, I really wasn't learning anything from it at all. Now this wasn't because I wasn't bothered enough to listen to the speeches from our lovely — and handsome — teacher, Mr. Quillworthy. Quite the opposite really. I loved learning new things from him. But as much as I adored his posh, informative accent it's just that when you've listened to the same boring lectures for the last six years of your life...

I let out a soft sigh and tried to focus on something else. I lazily examined the classrooms walls and saw the sad attempts at making the room less bleak and more bright and uplifting. Yet the poorly drawn pictures of happy ponies decorated upon the cracked and flaky red paint job that were the walls only made the space feel utterly depressing. Upon me actually taking a slight interest in my surroundings for once, I realised that it was pretty dark in here. It made sense though as all of the windows were boarded up except for the skylight above all of our heads. The sunlight that pierced through the air illuminated thousands of tiny dust particles that danced about dangerously. A thought popped into my head and I found myself wondering if it was safe for us to be breathing the air in here.

"The air isn't exactly clean outside either though..." I muttered aloud without even realising it. All of a sudden I felt extremely uneasy and nervous. So of course when I turned my head to look around out of pure instinct that I was being watched, I immediately took notice that all of my classmates eyes were glued to me. Now I'm a really shy and clumsy kid, I've never really liked attention so getting this much from a bunch of my judgemental classmates made me feel really anxious.

"I-I was just talking to myself," I explained hastily, "Don't mind me." I gave them the most sincere yet awkward looking smile that I could muster just as a few giggles broke out in unison. Right before I could forget that Mr. Quillworthy was in the room, he made himself known by clearing his throat in a very loud and exasperated manner that clearly demanded silence.

"Noctis." He sighed once more before directing his attractive gaze towards me. His topaz eyes sparkled brightly beneath his silver rimmed spectacles. I looked up shamefully and quickly felt my face burn in feverish heat. It was pretty obvious to everyone that I had the largest crush on Mr. Quillworthy. But who wouldn't find that stallion sexually appealing? Apparently a lot of ponies did indeed find him enticing because his light, bluish gray coat along with his ink black mane that was always tied back in a small distraught ponytail gave him many onlookers. He wore a white collar with a fancy red tie which only added to his academic look. And aside from all that he actually had a very large and buff build! How I so badly wished to get down and dirty in between those strong hindlegs!

"Y-yes?" I asked innocently.

"How many times must I remind you to pay attention in class?" He questioned me in such a tone that I just wanted to throw myself down in front of him and beg for his forgiveness.

"I-I don't know," I replied lamely and mentally added, "But if you punish me roughly then maybe I'll be a good, little obedient boy for you...~"

Mr. Quillworthy only smiled that sexy smile of his and continued. "I see. I suppose I'll have to teach you a lesson then." It was as if he could read my mind because what he said next nearly gave me a heartattack. "Yes. It seems that I'm going to have to punish you, aren't I?"

"P...pu-punish... me...?" I asked meekly as a flaming heat overwhelmed my smitten face. Oh goddesses, it was like a dream come true! How I've waited for this day! A few more of my fellow students giggled and snickered in amusement as they watched me make a complete idiot out of myself but at that moment I really didn't care.

"Yes," He affirmed, "You are to return here after the school day has finished and you will be writing some lines for me." At that moment my heart shattered into several shards until they were trod upon and crushed into a million different pieces before finally being buried away in a deep, dark hole along with the rest of my dirty little fantasies.

*      *      *

2184, July 30th, 5:52pm

"That wasn't the punishment I was hoping for at all..." I complained to myself in a whiney, childish tone as I tiredly trod along the gravel covered path that led to the filthy little shack where I 'lived'. It was already getting dark out and there was a chilly breeze gusting about but I wasn't in a hurry to get home because there wasn't going to be anyone there waiting for me. No, I was alone. And I was probably going to be alone for the rest of my miserable existence. Okay, maybe I wasn't completely alone. And maybe my life wasn't all that miserable. I just wanted to complain and bitch about it, okay!

An almost silent sigh escaped me as I came to a sudden stop in front of my shack. I looked up at the heavily abused tin can of a house and a frown spread across my face. I mentally decided that I didn't want to go inside, eat and then sleep but what could I do instead? There wasn't much to do in terms of fun nowadays. But then self-pleasure could be considered fun, right? I quickly wiped my mind of that extremely tempting idea and with a few protesting squeaks from the door, I managed to open it and I stepped inside.

It wasn't a spectacular sight but it was — unfortunately — all mine. A slightly stained mattress was tucked away alongside a rusty desk in one corner of the room. In the other there was a surprisingly clean cupboard, a not so clean fridge, a scummy sink and a countertop that was bolted into the wall. A large, dirty and cracked mirror hung on one of the other walls and mix and matched table and chairs were askew in the middle of the room. Aside from the other door that only led to an ungodly smelling bathroom, that was it.

After flicking on the switch for the lights, I made my way to the mirror so I could examine myself to see if I looked as tired as I felt. I'm told constantly by random ponies in the Settlement that I was adorable but I just couldn't see what made me so cute. My jet black mane was in it's usual side swept bangs, just barely covering up my right eye. For some bizarre reason, I always had dark, reddish black rings around my already deep red eyes. Those rings were made even worse from the hideously pale white coat that covered my body. Oh and I'm a pegasus. Yay, wings. But really, what was cute about any of that? I didn't even have my cutie mark yet...

Yes, I know. Pathetic, right? I'm sixteen years old and I didn't even have my own cutie mark yet. Which obviously meant that I wasn't special in any way. It kinda hurt but it was the truth. I wasn't good at anything, I didn't have any amazing talents. If only masturbation or visually molesting flanks were special talents...

My stomach growled and I realised my it really hurt, I was obviously hungry. I trotted on over to the makeshift kitchen that I was blessed with and popped open the fridge. The stench that was unleashed from inside that death trap made my eyes water, I nearly puked. I immediately slammed the fridge door shut. Unless I was hungry for crumbly bits of mold and spoiled cheese, then I wouldn't be eating anything tonight. I huffed and grumpily stomped off to my mattress where I angrily flopped down upon it and curled up for about half an hour. Maybe I was being melodramatic because I did have enough bits to go and buy something down at one of the restaurants in the marketplace but I didn't want to go out and buy food, I wanted to eat right here and now!

At some point I finished my temper tantrum and I lied there on my bed and thought about the things I actually learned from Mr. Quillworthy's lecture. I never understood why our town didn't have a name. We just referred to it as the Settlement and occasionally the Homestead. I know that the Settlement was first established by a group of settler ponies, and that they built the town up from scratch by using scrap metal and practically anything they could get their hooves on from the surrounding wastes. The other thing was that they were building the town beneath a narrow yet sturdy cliff so that there was only one way in and out. I had to admit that it was a good idea. Kinda. The cliff could possibly collapse down onto the Settlement and then we would all die horrible, horrible deaths. But it hasn't and — hopefully — it never will.

When they finally finished the Settlement it took them a few more years to constuct the great big wall that also acts as a gate to the outside world. At that time the Settlement became one of the most secluded and safest places in all of the wastes. Years went by until the present and apparently not that much has changed. Over the decades we were able to acquire water purifiers so we could make gardens. And we were now on the trade caravan routes so we could barter for other living essentials.

So yeah, life in the Settlement was great. A real paradise. If only more ponies made the trip and decided to rest their hooves here. Preferably an older homosexual stallion who I could possibly do dirty things with...

Suddenly I heard a knock come from the door. I groaned, feeling much to lazy to get up and open the door for who ever was knocking. "It's open," I called out, "Come on in!"

The door let out a grinding scream of rusted iron as it was opened and in the doorframe was none other then Silver, a sweet, little teal unicorn filly who I happened to be very close with. Not in a sexual way though, in a loving almost sibling way. "Hey Noctis!" She squealed, "How's it going?"

"It's going okay-ish, I guess." I slowly got up to my hooves before taking a sniff of the air only to be greeted with a simply amazing aroma. Silver smirked and hopped along to the table just as I noticed her adorable, little horn was enveloped in an amber colored overlay of magic. She was telekinetically levitating a white box behind her.

"Ah, so you can smell the muffins that I laboured to bake for you." Silver sat the box down on the table and flipped the lid off and presented the most ugly looking pastries I've ever seen in my life. "You're welcome."

"Uh, yeah. Thanks, Silver," I gulped, "They look... absolutely scrumptous."

She rolled her eyes and hopped up onto one of the chairs, gesturing to the box. "Don't lie, they look absolutely disgusting, I know. But they smell good, don't they?"

I had to agree, she was definitely right about that. "Yeah but if they kill me, I'm gonna haunt you when I'm dead." Silver snorted amusedly. I sat down at the table and reached over for a muffin. Hesitantly, I nibbled on the edge of the lump and blinked, quickly scarfing the thing down. It must have been the most delicious thing I've ever eaten!

She grinned and clopped her forehooves together. "So they're edible?"

I stared at Silver blankly. I don't think I've ever seen her laugh so hard in my life.

*      *      *

2184, July 30th, 10:23pm

It was getting pretty late and it didn't seem like Silver was leaving anytime soon. I wondered if she had something to tell me because it wasn't like her to be nice to me for no reason. Unless of course I was wrong which made me question her in so many ways. Silver — being herself — practically sensed that I was going to ask her something and so she spoke up before I could even think up the words.

"So, did you hear about the 'suspicious' caravan that's asking if they can come inside the Settlement?" I had a confused look on my face and so she continued. "You know that we would normally let the caravans in for the night but we weren't expecting any caravans for another week... And they don't look like merchants which is fine but aside from that the leader of the group looks pretty shady so we've refused them several times. They're allowed to set up camp in front of the gate and that's where they are right now but still..."

I blinked and tilted my head to the side. "That's not a very good reason to not let them in. I mean, there are a few shady looking ponies in the Settlement already and the caravans have helped us out a few times so why not help them out this once?"

"That's what I was thinking too!" Silver exclaimed, "We should let them in but then they've always set up camp out in the wastes at night, right? It doesn't make sense for them to travel all the way to our Settlement just so they can stay in for the night."

I thought on this for a moment and shrugged. "I don't know then." Silver shrugged as well and levitated a muffin over towards herself and chowed down on it.  "Sure, it was sorta odd but nothing bad would happen, right?" I thought, "They just wanted company from some friendly ponies. Yeah, that had to be it."

Silver yawned cutely and stretched out her forelegs, smacking her lips. "Well as much as I love to hang out with you, I'm totally beat so I think I'd better get home before my mom freaks out." Silver got off the chair with a quirky little hop and made her way to the door. "I'll see you tomorrow Noctis!" With a wave of her right hoof she let herself out into the dark of the night, closing my door with a kick of her left hindleg

I stared off into random space for a while after Silver left. Then an overwhelming tiredness enveloped my limbs and I knew I would faint soon if I didn't get some sleep. So that was what I intended to do. After turning off the lights in the shack, I practically dragged myself over to my mattress and dropped down onto it, curling up and before long I drifted off into a soundless sleep.

*      *      *

2184, July 30th, 10:57pm

I skipped along one of the many trails in the Settlement, passing a few drunk but oddly friendly enough ponies on my way home. My vist to Noctis' home was nice, hanging out with him is always a blast. Sure, he's a little weird and sometimes a major daydreaming pervert but who isn't? It would be unusual for a stallion his age if he wasn't having those sexual urges to clop it when no ones looking... but at least he can control it.

Sorta.

I yawned weakly, feeling incredibly tired, my skips slowly degraded into weak, soulless trots as I exited one of the main alleys between a row of rusty shacks and out into the open, brightly lit marketplace. From here I could see both the large, rusty, nearly unguarded gate that lead to the wastes and the large inn and bar which was my destination where my worried mother would be waiting. All around me were the local drunks of our little community. They were laughing childishly, grinning gleefully at their bubbly and immature jokes. But I still couldn't help but giggle with them as lively as I could when I passed by them.

I knew most of the adults here, as they were regulars at the bar where I lived and worked part-time with my lovely mother, Topaz. Despite her being a whore, she really cares for me and Noctis too. He actually use to live with us but he couldn't handle working in the bar so the owner — Ivy Wines, a sick almost cruel mare who I despise greatly — fired him and kicked his ass out. Luckily Noctis had enough bits to afford one of the older shacks but not much else. So my mom and I supported him financially as much as we could until he was able to find a part-time job in the Settlement as an assistant in the clinic on the weekends. And nowadays in return for our kindness, he's helping us out with our rent. Though I sometimes wish that Noctis still lived with us in the bar's suites like we use to, he's like the big brother I never had but always wanted.

But I'd never tell him that, he'd probaly freak out and suspect I'm planning something evil again.

"Silver! Get your fucking ass in here and get to work! Now!" I hadn't even noticed that my boss, Ivy Wines was watching me the entire time I was reminiscing. She was yelling out at me from the steps of her pride and joy of a bar. Her disgruntled jade mane waving about wildly as she screamed her head off.

"Yeah, yeah! I'm coming, put a sock in it!" I smiled softly to myself, making my way through the now surprisingly empty market up to the large wooden doors of the noisy and rowdy bar, readying myself to work another night of waiting tables and serving up the crap we called food.

*      *      *

2184, July 31st, 1:01am

I woke up a few hours later to the sound of a bloodcurdling scream of a mare followed by a gunshot. My head was pounding painfully, I was confused and overly tired. Was I dreaming? I decided much too quickly that I was and so I lied back down on the mattress and attempted to convince myself. It took me a full minute to realise that it wasn't a dream and in an instant, I was up on my hooves, sweating heavily as I shook on the spot. Bloody screams of murder resounded in the air and just like that, I was at the door. Thousands of thoughts raced through my mind but of one thing I was completely sure of; my home was being attacked and I had to do something, anything.

As soon as I burst outside through the door of my shack, the shocking horror and awe of what was happening in front of me processed in my brain at an extremely slow rate.

Fire. The buildings that once housed the innocent ponies of the Settlement were all on fire. Burning embers and ash blew about in the hot wind, gagging my already stiff throat.

Bodies. The defiled and limbless corpses of residents — some I knew, some I didn't — littered the streets in lifeless, bloody piles.

Hot, sticky tears streamed down my cheeks, my eyes wide in fear as I stared in disbelief.  "This can't be happening, this can't be happening...!" I choked, praying to the Goddesses that this was all just a nightmare. "I've gotta wake up!!!" I collapsed onto the ground, crying hotly as I bit into my lip, stomping hooves repeatedly as I heard even more horrid screams and gunshots.

Out of nowhere a sick, cold laugh broke me out of stupor. My ears perked upright as my heart stopped. I slowly turned my head around only to be face-to-face with a filthy, gore covered, sadistically grinning stallion. This disgusting creature appeared to be a bandit, a raider of sorts. He wore a bunch of brown stitched, patchwork leather straps across his body and legs. Bloody knives, sickles and stained whips were hanging off of various bands and metal hoops along his flank. I couldn't see his cutie mark but I could see the thousands of intricate, bleeding scars that decorated his lips as well as a smile that was actually carved into the cheeks of his face!

I mentally screamed at the sight of him and immediately scrambled up onto my hooves only to stumble and trip and fall flat on my face. Another heartless laugh emitted from him just before crunching hoofsteps alerted me that he was approaching and so I spun around once more to face him only to find the stallion standing over me. The expression on his face looked heavily amused, as if he had something planned for me.

He planted his forehooves beside my head, chuckling sickly. "You ain't dreamin' kiddo. This is really happenin'." The smelly male leaned over top of my cowering figure, licking his now scabbing lips, his eyes full of lusftful intent. Only then did I see the rock hard piece of flesh that I was pretty sure he was gonna force inside of me whether I wanted him to or not. "I'm not so sure about how you're gonna feel but about this but I know I'll enjoy gettin' balls deep in that sweet ass of yours..."

I wasn't sure what came over me but I knew that I had to defend myself from this... whatever this thing was. I never was a violent pony, I never liked hurting other ponies, hell, I'd weep a hidden tear if I even stepped on a bug but this was different. This was survival. And this 'pony' was a vile monster and he deserved what I was going to do to him.

I launched one of my hindlegs into tender places and kicked him off of me. The stallion bandit yelped loudly in obvious pain and stumbled back a few steps. It took him a few seconds to realise what happened but when he did, he looked extremely pissed. I didn't stop or relent, quickly stepping forward and slamming a forehoof into his ugly mug of a face. He groaned and spat out blood and a yellowed, rotting tooth but yet he stood his ground. With a gleeful grin, the bandit unsheathed the whip from his leather banding and brandished it for me to see.

With deadly accuracy he lashed the torturous tool out at me, the whip connected and cracked painfully across the side of my left flank leaving behind a hot, stinging welt. I screamed out in horrible, searing pain, falling over onto my ribcage but then out of natural instinct I rolled to the right a few inches and just barely avoided another crack of the whip.

I had no time to think. I got up to my hooves and galloped straight for the bandit, jumping at him and forcefully tackling him down to the ground. I had the upper hoof, he was stunned and I needed to finish this or he was going to rape and kill me. I quickly snatched a wickedly sharp-looking sickle from his bandings and went for his exposed throat.

The blade I wielded so shakily actually did it. And by that I mean, I sliced open his jugular in a single slash. Hot blood poured from his fatal wound and he collapsed gagging, a growing pool of red soaking the ground around his now lifeless body.

I breathed heavily and dropped the crude weapon from my mouth, tears in my eyes. "I-I... I killed a pony..." Then I reminded myself in thought, "No, he was a cruel animal and he had to be put down."

I picked the sickle back up, not with my mouth this time but with my tail. I gave it a few practice swings and took a deep breath. There were going to be more bandits down in the marketplace and in the homes of innocent ponies, no doubt about it. I needed a plan but I couldn't concentrate... I couldn't. What should I do? There were ponies that needed help but I couldn't go rushing in there. And even if I did, I couldn't save them. I was just a kid. There wasn't anything I could do to help....

Silver and her mom!

I needed to find Silver and whoever else and we needed to get the hell out of the Settlement!

My mind was set.

*      *      *

2184, July 31st, 1:38am

I  galloped as fast as I possibly could through the gore and ash filled streets of the Settlement, hoping with all my might that Silver would be okay when I found her. I had already killed another pony, a mare. I had thought she was dead when I stepped by her but then I noticed she was face first in a foals torn apart belly. Then I realised that the freak was actually eating the poor child! I sliced her neck open immediately and stomped on her corpse for a few seconds before continuing on with my search.

If one of these bandits got to Silver by now then she's probably already dead or worse...

I stopped in my tracks, looking around the burning landscape desperately  — which just so happened to be the marketplace — for the sweet little filly. "Silver!" I screamed, "Where are you!?"

I hadn't even expected a response and it surprised me when she almost immediately responded to in a begging plea. "N-noctis, help me..!" My heart pounded in my chest and the fear that I held in my mind from earlier quickly grew into a passionate hatred as a loud, painful smack and a scream from Silver was heard.

"Shut the fuck up you little slut or I'll slit your fucking neck open!!!" Another scream from my filly friend blasted into the air followed by the sound of slapping flanks. Protesting squeals broke out as well as a series of brutal smacks.

By now I knew where the rape was being held and I quickly slammed through the door into the nearest building — an extremely familiar bar — where I found another horribly scarred stallion joyfully raping a whimpering and bleeding Silver against a pool table.

My jaw dropped. "Y-you.... you.... y-you  s-sick..." He looked up at me, grinning wildly. "You sick fucker!!!" I roared as I charged the bandit. He didn't stand a chance against me as I ripped him away from Silver. Without hesitation I viciously slashed and ripped the stallion apart with the sickle, his guts and innards spilt out of his stomach, blood splattered the table and walls as I committed violent murder. I was fully pissed and fucking furious, all I could see was the bandits crimson blood and his pathetic face as I watched him die. It was indeed a complete pleasure to see the light fade from his tearful eyes.

After I let his mutilated corpse fall to the floor, I quickly rushed over to Silver. Her little body was abused, whip welts covered her already stained and leaking flank, blood seeped down from in between her fragile hindlegs yet a small smile was spread across her pained face as she looked up at me with her amber eyes. "B-bit of... of a-an overkill.... d-don't you think....?"

"Y-yeah..." I returned her smile the best I could. I felt like curling up and crying but I couldn't. Silver was being strong despite what happened just now so I owed it her to be strong. But even so, she was hurt and she needed major medical attention. As much as I wanted to help her now, we had to get out of here.

"I'm getting you away from here, we're leaving the Settement." I told Silver as I managed to slip her over my back, my own painful welt aching as I did so.

"N-now that is a... a-a great idea..." Silver groaned in protest but she held on tightly to my body.

"But first, your mom..." I slowly closed my mouth as I heard a weak whimper and then a soft sob break free. My heart cracked just a little bit and the feeling of crying returned to me. "Be strong Noctis, you have to be strong. At least Silver is okay, right?" I nodded to myself, taking a deep breath.

"Alright, we're out of here then." After Silver assured me that she was safe for travel, I walked slowly over towards the exit of the bar, peeking out of it.

From here I could see the large gate that once protected us from the outside world was wide open and completely unguarded. It was way too easy, after all I heard gunshots earlier. It was obviously a trap. But if I ran, I was sure I could make it out. After I glanced about to make sure the way was clear, I stepped out into the burning heat of the marketplace. With Silver's safety set in my mind as a primary objective, I made a run for it. I ran as fast as I could, breaking into a speeding sprint past all of the screaming cries for help. Bandits were beginning to swarm about the defenseless victims but I knew I couldn't help those ponies. I still felt incredibly guilty that I was leaving them behind.

I was about halfway to the gate just when I saw that it was closing! The bandits were trying to trap us in the Settlement! And even worse than that, about a dozen or so of the fuckers were chasing us down like hounds! Of course it couldn't be easy but why was I even surprised?!

My heart pounded and I immediately broke into a painful gallop, leaping over fallen debris, swerving around pikes that actually had the severed heads of ponies impaled upon them.

Okay, that was the last straw. Now I was absolutely desperate to escape this hellhole!

I was inches away from the gate and just when I thought we wouldn't make it, we did. I slipped beneath the creaking and groaning steel before it hit the ground and made it outside into the emptiness that was the wasteland. We were already nearing a safe distance away from the gates of the Settlement but I still galloped, I galloped Silver and I away from the only home we've ever known. Slowly, very slowly, my heart broke, the fragments stabbing me from the inside out. I soon realised that I was crying.

But I continued to gallop as fast as my legs would allow.

Out into the cold of the night where unknown horrors awaited us.