Two Hundred Days

Day 19

Keen Eyes's Log

Two days of radio silence from Manehattan since I fixed the radio. We're not expecting much from what's left of our military, but it would sure help pass the time. I just wish DJ could at least play something when there's nothing to report. ~~Oh well, at least-~~

Headed out tonight with Hay Day, no questions asked. Emergency broadcast just played on the radio, and I've only got two or three hours to prepare. Honestly, I have no words for a message like this:

Citizens of Equestria, you are not forgotten. You have faced many hardships the past couple months, and you have seen things no pony should ever have to bear witness to. I know this, because I have seen such things myself, and I have seen the same in your dreams. I understand your pain, your suffering, and your hatred, for both the Changelings and the royalty. I know what it means to struggle, to weep, and to lose all those who you hold dear. But, I also know the meaning of friendship, family, loyalty, and kindness. I know times have tested your bonds with your comrades, as they have mine, but I am proud that you all stand together to face this calamity with hearts as strong as horses. This is why, effective immediately, I, Princess Luna, have ordered air drops of supplies on every major city of Equestria. In it, you will find food, water, antibiotics, clothes, antiseptics, weapons, tools, and surgical equipment. This is why, dear citizens, you must know you are not forgotten.

Day 19

I know it doesn't show, but even as I write I am crying, not of sadness, but pure joy. I don't know if Princess Luna saw my nightmares of Hay Bale's death, if some pony else's fears prompted a response, or if their timing is sheer dumb luck, but I just relieved modern supplies are now dropping on Ponyville. Three crates have already landed and more are arriving by the minute. Tonight is going to be one hell of a night. Leaders from each of the survivor groups are meeting before the sun sets to make a plan to keep the air drops away from the Changelings. The raiders have even sent a representative, but no pony is really considering their involvement in the plan. No pony but Keen Eyes.

That stallion is perhaps the stupidest smart pony around. This is my last chance to get real medicine and cure Hay Bale and now he want to get raiders in on it! He thinks their firepower can fight of the Changelings for the night, as if they can think of anything except taking for themselves. I swear, as soon as the Changelings are chased off, we're going to have a hell of a scuffle with those unicorns.

I know I should stay and make sure Hay Bale's fine, but he can't die any faster now. I've given him a strong sedative pill, the last one in fact, to keep him from moving around at night. As soon as the night hits Keen Eyes, Hay Day, and Jade Jewel are headed out to collect the dropped crate. Well, with Hay Bale asleep I get to go with them, and I'm going to keep an eye on those raiders and make sure Keen doesn't screw up retrieving the medicine.

Day 20

Keen Eyes's Log

Last night went without a hitch, and though I'd hate to admit it, we have Nurse Toxin to thank for the success. But that was late into the night, first, I have to say that I am beyond ecstatic right now. Jade, Hammer, Nurse, and I, we met up with the Marketplace Survivors to go over the plan of attack.

First, we'd hit the two crates dropped near the old Sugar Cube Corner. The place was overrun with Changelings trying to break through the magic seal placed on each crate. We didn't realize it was a pony-only-seal at the time, but we didn't focus on that until after the Changelings were gone. Thankfully the raiders said they owed me a favor for helping one of their fillies, or else the crates would have been completely inaccessible. Not every pony was on board, but when the unicorns went to work I think pretty much every pony agreed we needed them.

The raiders began the first phase of the assault, the distraction. Three unicorns levitated various bits of junk into the sky, drawing the Changeling's attention away from the crate. In an instant the unicorns compacted the junk into a ball of compost and scrap and dropped it on the Changelings below. But what they lacked in brains they made up for with their numbers and resilience, and after a short period of silence they began to rise from the garbage. That was phase two of the plan. The Marketplacers and us charged onto the Changeling crawling from the junk and clobbered them with lead pipes, chains, planks, and just about anything else we could get our hooves on. I'm sure they're not dead, just taking a long nap.

The seal was the next challenge but we blundered through it with sheer luck. We didn't know it was designed to block out Changeling only, so we spent about fifteen minutes staring at it until some pony from the Marketplace sloped on ice and fell through the seal. We kind of felt stupid after that, but we didn't care. Both crates were stuffed to the brim with carrots, potatoes, hay, and apples. We hauled it off to the old City Hall so we could safely divide it up.

We decided to split up the food by weight, so each group got about 30 kilograms of food. Hay Day delivered our supplies back to base, and a Marketplace pegasus sent their food back to their home too, but the unicorn raiders didn't have some pony to fly for them, so they just hid their food somewhere in City Hall.

The crate near the Library Stump was much smaller, thus not guarded by Changeling, but it had some of the best stuff. There were first aid kits, adrenaline shots, fever relief pills, antiseptics, even some clean metal rods for splints. We had a much harder time dividing this rate up, Nurse insisted that we get the most since Hay Bale was still considered in a critical condition. The raiders conceded to her because of me, but the Marketplace Survivors refused. If it wasn't for the cold we would have stood there all night arguing, I'm sure of it. But the wind began to pick up we finally had our way. We got a bottle of antiseptic, three of the six first aid kits, and six of the twenty pill bottles. We didn't need adrenaline shots but that was all the raiders wanted, so the Marketplace got the rest.

This is where Nurse really saved our flanks, but I think it would be better if she told the story. Keen out.

Day 20 part 2

Nurse Toxin here to say that technically I was right about raiders attacking us. But, maybe I was a tiny bit off on which raiders would attack. You see, after we picked up the medicine near the destroyed library tree we headed for the only crate with a clear marking on it; it was surgical equipment and it had dropped right on top of the Helper's Clinic. Naturally I was the only one with any experience with the clinic, though I think the raiders would have preferred some pony else.

Of course, the Changeling had already surrounded the clinic and were trying to crack open the magic seal around the surgical crate. Non of us knew how long those seals lasted but none of us wanted to find out, so we initiated another battle plan that the Marketplace leader came up with.

Naturally, Jade Jewel coordinated everything away from the battlefield, no pony argued, she was just to dainty and would have gotten in the way. The raiders took the sewers, using the pipes to position themselves under the Changelings surrounding the clinic. Our three pegasi, Hay Bale and two of the Marketplacers, would hover above the clinic with storm clouds full of sleet and hail, which basically meant any storm cloud at that time. The rest of us - Keen, me, and the Marketplace leader and his sister - would sneak through a filthy, junk filled, rat infested, moss covered alley way. The Changelings couldn't even handle how disgusting it was, which is probably why they didn't guard it. I took three baths as soon as we returned and I still smell like garbage. I might have to ask Minty for a herbal soap or somethings.

But anyways, we crawled through the alley and slipped into the clinic without being seen, and we made our way to the room that was right below the the surgical equipment. Keen and I asked the earth ponies to take a step back so they wouldn't get hit by what we were going to try. A raiders agreed to lend us two adrenaline shots for this mission, one shot for me, and one shot for Keen.

I had administered plenty of adrenaline shots in the Ponyville hospital, but I never actually got one myself. I wish I had, the rush of power was exhilarating, almost uncontrollable. For a pegasus or an earth pony they'd just have to blow of some steam, but for a unicorn, let's just say it was a pretty wicked light show.

Keen and I fired off solid beams of magic from our horns, delivering an array of green and blue auras and destroying the roof the crate was on, bringing it down into the clinic. That was the first distraction. They Changelings were on us in three seconds, but the raiders were on the Changelings in two. I could tell they had taken their adrenaline shots as well, for their magic glowed brighter than before and their beams broke through brick and metal, something an average unicorn could not accomplished alone. If I wasn't at the risk of death, I would have thought it all looked very pretty, but alas, Changelings still managed to swarm into the clinic.

Even with adrenaline, fighting the Changelings was hard. I only new a small cutting spell for making incisions on a patient, but the Changeling were professional soldiers of their hive. They had more than just blasts of magic, they had adhesive spells which trapped the Marketplace leader, and fired magical cocoons, one of which engulfed Keen. The leader's sister gave the Changelings a good fight but we was eventually killed by a blast to the chest. They poor mare, I would mourn for her, but I didn't really know her.

The more I got cornered the more frantic I became. The adrenaline was still going but I began to feel exhausted. The walls of the clinic were shot out and crumbling, and I could see the raiders were struggling as well. It was only by the power of the pegasi that pulled us through. Our final stage of the plan was to channel a hailstorm onto the Changelings and blow them away, and though there was some collateral damage on the raiders, no pony else was killed. The Changelings and their insect-like wings could not handle the weather and get left grounded. I don't mean their wings broke and they got stuck on the ground, I mean the hail was so strong Changelings were pummeled beyond recognition.

It was a close victory, but a victory none the less. To the victor goes the spoils, or so they say. Well, not this time. We opened up the crate to find multiple sets of surgical blades, IV bags, heart monitors, and so on. More than enough to even divide among us. But then there was the raider problem I kept worrying about. So what if I suspected the wrong raiders? It's not like I know the difference between one unicorn faction and the other.

We were caught off guard when we exited what was left of the clinic. Fifteen unicorns, armed with spears, bolas, and batons, all waiting for us. They had allowed us to take care of the Changelings and so that they could steal he equipment we so rightfully earned. Of course, since I was right about the raider threat, I had a plan ready for escape. As our raider friends yelled at our raider enemies, I led Keen Eyes and Jade with me into a neighboring shop, and Hay Day followed from above. The shop was part of the Quills and Sofas chain, however there were no quills to be found.

Quills or no, my plan still worked with the sofas. As the enemy raiders began to close in on the others, I told Jade and Keen to rip up as many sofas as they could, though Jade mostly stood around telling Keen to work harder. I levitated all the stuffing over to the front, where all the windows were broken, piling them up until all the windows were obstructed. Once we had enough stuffing, I had Hay Day flap his wings and give a big gust for the stuffing, blowing it all toward the enemies, getting all the dust and sofa feathers in their eyes. I'm sure sharped quills would have added to the effect, but these stores always seemed to run out of quills. I wonder who could possible need so many quills.

The sofa stuffing gave every pony a chance to escape, while the enemy raiders choked on the filthy air of old sofas. After that, our groups were once again divided, we returned to our run down house while the Marketplace Survivors went back into the Marketplace. I'm not sure what happened to the unicorn raiders, but I would assume they have a base somewhere. We'll still have to look out for them now that we're no longer working together, but it's comforting to know that there's something left in Equestria that can unite every pony like that.