Chapter 2

All morning, Summer had remained on the straw bedding, listening to the chirping of the family of birds that resided outside her window. With the previous night's “hiccup,” her apathy about her own well being had returned and so she laid there, staring at the rotten ceiling, listening to the only family that remained in these parts.

To be free as a bird - as a pegasi…

She lifted a hoof above herself and played with the light. No matter what she attmepted, the images of the five ponies kept appearing before her. Killing those ponies last night had not phased her, at least the kill or be killed part of surviving. No, her issue was surviving in general.

What was she surviving for? Was it for the sake of surviving itself, because there wasn’t anything to live for beyond being the guardian of a decaying house and faded memories. Well - there was that one particular thing, but besides that, she could easily walk out on this bleak humdrum of an existence and let the world fester without her.

She closed her eyes. Took in a relaxing breath, and let the frustration of the world flow out of her as quietly and calmly as she could.

Life was hard, she reminded herself. It was relentlessly hard, but even more reason to stare defiantly back, and flip the hoof proudly.

Changing gears, she mulled over the “hiccup” in her mind. There were other terms she wanted to describe the situation with, but she pushed them away. There was no point at being angry with Sid. Knowing the Agent of Fear, he was probably vicariously taking out her anger on himself by doing  something constructive.

Obsidian was a strange creature, that she was certain of. Even after the two years they had lived with each other, she still had her moments of trying to understand his actions. Then again, a mortal like herself shouldn’t try to rationalize the motives of alicorns and demi-gods. Though when living with one, it was easier to say than to practice.

Finding the willpower within, she pulled herself from the straw bedding and went over to the cracked mirror. She winced at the explosion that was her frazzled mane. There was no point working those knots out. Not this day.

Looking herself over, she put her hooves on the mirrors frame. Slumping her head down, she sighed at the sight before her. The reflection was not the pony she was within, but the creature she had allowed herself to survive as.

If only…

She shook her head. Yeah, “if only” this or that. It didn’t change the fact that the world spun on its head now. She would do whatever it took to survive out in this lonely corner of Equestria. Anything. If it was kill or be killed, she was going to make sure she was on the right side of the gun.

Speaking of which…

She hooked the rifle and stared defiantly into the mirror. The creature looked back and smiled vicsiously and victoriously once again.

When Summer came down from her room, Obsidian was up to what she had been expecting. The wood stove was in full force as well as the water heater, but her companion was nowhere in sight in the barren boarded up ruin of a home. Even so, the place, delipidated as it was, had been cleaned and repaired from the previous night's engagement. Most of the bullet holes remained. The pressurized cooker was gone, destroyed by the shotgun blast that rocked the house. Even the back door which the invaders had entered by had been boarded up using some of the remaining floorboards.

She frowned at the sight of the new wall. No, this wasn’t going to remain. If she had to sacrifice anything further on this subject, she was going to burn the house down and be done with it. The loss of some comforts could only go so far. She would have her quick access to her shower - just not today.

When she approached the kitchen counter, breakfast sat waiting. She placed the shoulder rifle next to her, as she took the seat and looked at the bowl of oats with sliced strawberries.

What a waste, she thought. Two very good meals wasted into one.

She took a deep breath and remembered he was just trying to do good and that she should just enjoy the apology.

Latching the spoon to her shoe, she dug in.

With that first spoonful hitting her tongue, the memories of that life she had once lived returned. Those warm memories wrapped around her, comforting her against the woe of the outside world. The combination of tastes dancing around her mouth didn’t just reawaken her palette, but also revitalized her soul.

She quickly slowed herself from gobbelling up the bowls contents and began to enjoy the spoonfulls, one at a time.

How long had she missed this.

When she finished, she cleaned up the mess then went to her rifle and hooked it to her shoe. The weapon seemed lighter all of a sudden.

Yes, it was happily lighter.

Looking for her friend, she found the hooded pony hard at work in the room where she had dragged the bodies the previous night. It was empty now, save for him and the blood he smeared over the floor.

She watched from the hall as he went about  cleaning the floor with the blood soaked mop. No matter how many times he dunked the red mop head into the bucket, it never changed in consistency. When he turned around, he paused for a moment as they both acknowledged each other silently, then continued on with his task.

She continued to watch, waiting for him to realize that the water was just as bloody as the smear he spread over the floorboards. Instead, he remained as he was, mopping to some endless repetition.

There it was, that strange behaviour only a demi-god could understand. She didn’t want to say anything, but the floor had become coated in diluted blood.

Before she could, the mop freed itself from his hold, banging hard on the floor. He picked up the slippery pole and finagled it between his shoeless hooves, only to have it slip out again. She watched as he stared at it from behind that shadow of his hood. There was something working behind that shroud of darkness.

“If you want to change those hooves into claws -” she begun.

“I am capable,” was his flat reply. He bent down and took control again of the mop and again he continued with his task.

         This was silly, she thought. They were both being foals about something they were both in the wrong for and needed a resolution before it went any further.

With that, she went over to the hooded stallion and took hold of the bucket, hooking it to her shoe. “You need clean water.”

As she began to leave, Obsidian said, “I’m sorry - for waking you. For invading your dream. I should have dealt with them.”

The air between them remained silent for a time as she forced the words up then said, “I should have let you. Nopony would have had to die. I’m sorry as well.”

“I’m backsliding,” he said abruptly. “I can feel it.” Summer put the bucket next to the door then went over to Obsidian, as he continued, “It’s getting harder -” and gave him the biggest hug she could.

“We’re all backsliding. Nopony can escape it.”

“I’m not a pony.”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Summer, I - you can’t afford - nopony - no one - can afford...” he stammered.

She squeezed him tighter as much as her muscles could allow.

“You are my friend. No matter what has transpired between us, what happens to you matters to me.” When she let go he was the small black cloud. She pressed her hoof to his side and said, “Loyalty, it’s what friends do.”

“Thank you,” he said.

“We’re in this together, remember Now, I’m gonna finish this mess and then we need to be off.” She hooked the bucket then paused at the door. “Sid?”

“Yes?” said the cloud.

 Cracking a half smile, she said, “Thanks for being there for me as well.”

The little cloud bumped her on the shoulder then drifted past heading elsewhere.

Alicorns and demi-gods, she thought, shaking her head. Still, she wouldn’t trade places with any pony, the tangle mess she was with him.

After changing the water, Summer went to cleaning the floor as best she could. The wooden planks in the end were stained and beyond cleaning. A frown crossed her face. She would have to flip them since it was the only room with all its floorboards and she needed a functioning room.

Well, if the wood had been sealed…, she thought.

If only there were bits to pay for said sealing…, she shot back to herself.

“If life were perfect,” she said aloud to the four walls.

In any case, it was a job for when she returned.

Putting the cleaning supplies away, she hooked her rifle and proceeded to the shower. When she returned to the newly boarded up wall of a rear door, she rolled her eyes at her quick lapse of memory and changed directions. Crossing the lone bridge of planks that was her living room, she stopped at the door, hooking the keys then worked her way down the row of locks. Rifle at the ready, she cracked the door open just enough to spy on the world.

Confident, the weapon preceded her as she made her way out, checking all the corners of the open space. Locking the door behind her, she walked around to the back with her senses at full alert.

Obsidian might be able to sense threats, but that wasn’t an excuse to wander about carelessly, not so far from town and so near the Everfree.

Wisps of breath escaped from her snout, but even the weather wasn’t going to stop her from taking a warm shower. Nothing was going to stop her and should something try, may those of the Elysian Fields have mercy on them.

Scanning the back section of the house, she moved over to the hose that hung from an extended part of the roof and adjusted the knobs. The water rushed out from the nozzle, creating a hot mist that rose from the ground. She continued adjusting the knobs until the water met the desired temperature.

Glancing around once more, she propped the shoulder rifle in its normal spot and let the water quickly soak over her. She did not linger any longer than she had to and made her way back inside as quickly as possible.

After she dried herself off, she latched the hot iron to her shoe and proceed to flatten her mane. When she finished, it wasn’t perfect or pretty, but that wasn’t the point. She was going for maintained, even if it was stiff as a board.

Having a short mane would have been a wonder for her, but every time she had tried, all she had done was make herself look like a stallion. At least that’s how  Cherry had put it. Yes, she did agree, she did look some what like a stallion. Of course her friend being the ever tormentive friend that she was, naturally took the teasing to a length that required a friendly intervention. In the end, both of them didn’t mind being called Mister, since neither of them had a mane to tend to.

A half smile cracked her face.

Shining moments in the darkness, she mused.

When she was done, she obtained her gear and met Obsidian by the door. He was once again the mysterious brown earth pony with no cutie mark. Beside him was his saddlebags full of the scavenged loot and the little she thought could help. When she checked the contents of his bags, she knew already the amount she’d be trading for. Still, any bit was better than no bits, and pickers couldn’t be choosers.

Strapping the shoulder rifle to her body, she let it sit at rest. With a quick motion, the weapon snapped-to and her eye was immediately looking down the sight. She worked the mechanism a few times then kept the rifle at the ready.

Obsidian moved behind her as she unbolted the door once more, then departed into the vast wilderness of grassy fields and rolling hills. From here she could see a good portion of this side of Equestria. Even the tip top peak of Canterlot's mountain could be seen to her left, but what she focused on was the small dot that was Haystersburg, at the base of the hills and everything inbetween.

With any luck, they would beat the sun and still have enough time to trade what they had. If she was really lucky, her job would have work waiting for her this night.

The road to Haystersburg was long and winding, with hills rolling like green waves making it harder to spot anypony laying in wait. Add in the vast open space, and she had become a clear target for anypony that didn’t want to get their hooves dirty.

The fact that no pony travelled these parts anymore save her, Obsidian, and the occasional lost tourist, did make travel more consistent, though the possibility of that one chance kept her on her hoof tips.

The only ones she did have to worry about were the gangs, but even they had slowed their activities. There weren’t many to rob outside the hamlet, beyond other gangs, of which were the town folk themselves.

No pony came to Haystersburg anymore. Not even the post arrived in these parts. An acceptable loss to the financial collapse plaguing the country and no pony was going to rescue them but themselves.

When the road banked towards the Everfree, Summer kept her mind focused. The Everfree  wasn’t just home to the strange and deadly, it also housed the many gangs that roamed about.

As they travelled, Obsidian bumped into Summer, letting her know that they were about to encounter the first wave of scouts. She spotted several movements in the tree line, but made no reaction to any of them. Keeping the course, she kept an eye on the tree line as the unseen eyes undoubtedly watched back.

The further down the road they went, the more and more the gangs became prevalent at the tree line, not just making themselves brazenly known to her, but also interacting with each other. Most of the expressions she saw implied dark desires for one reason or another, but those were not the one’s she concerned herself with. The only ones that mattered, were the ones that  nodded to her as she passed. Those were the ponies that kept the others at bay.

One stallion even tipped his straw hat. She acknowledged him with a slight nodded and kept it moving.

When the road moved away from the Everfree, Obsidian trotted up and indicated they were once again alone.

Taking a moment, she let the tension ease from her. One day, they would try again. They would always try again.

With Haystersburg in sight, it was easy to mistake the hamlet for a ghost town, as it wasn’t the most modern of Equestrian design. That of course, was when it had ponies living in it. Now, for all intensive purposes, it was how it looked.

The sign to Haystersburg had been defaced. Where “Welcome To” had been, was replaced with the words “Abandoned by Canterlot.” The population count was much more colorful. One scribbling in particular, caught her attention: “Swallowed by the endless Nightmare, death be to the Moon!”

Obsidian, snorted his distasted for the graffiti as they passed. She didn’t like the idea either, of the princess being made further into a monster, but unlike him, she could sympathize with the ponies that made the statement. After all, her return was what caused the collapse.

Little whirlwinds of debris swept through the streets as they passed the boarded up homes and businesses. Those that weren’t, were either ransacked or had become self made fortresses.

Summer made sure to keep to the center of the road. Getting too close to an occupied property was reason to be shot at, even then, just being around was reason enough.

As the buildings got tighter with each other, Obsidian stopped abruptly and Summer went right into a defensive stance, scanning for any movement. When she couldn’t find any threats on her own, and so turned to him looking for a direction to aim, but nothing. Instead, he casually began to gaze about as if searching, then stopped.

“That ‘thing’ again?” she asked, keeping her attention on their surroundings.

“It was stronger this time. Couldn’t make out who or where - still...” said Obsidian as he moved up to her. “There are other eyes watching. We shouldn’t linger.”

They maneuvered through the quiet hamlet, passing around the grocer's highly secured compound, until finally, they had reach their destination.

The Haystersburg bank was one of the only buildings still retaining its dignified image, though the marble stone wasn’t as clean as it used to be. With all the guards patrolling around, a dirty building was better than an empty one.

The two of them approached the security checkpoint, Summer’s rifle at rest. A squad of armored earth ponies in urban camo, with a logo of a hoof over a set of lips, stopped them prior to the checkpoint and went through the normal song and dance each time she returned.

Once in the checkpoint, she surrendered her creative homemade gear, getting unnerved looks from the check-in clerk.

“Never know the occasion,” she said to the stallion, who mumbled something like a uncomfortable confirmation in return.

The clerk had not been especially pleased by the strange small device that she had described as, “keeping the stallions in place,” and had made sure to put something between himself and the item as he placed it in the box.

Taking the ticket, the two of them continued onward, getting scanned by machines and unicorns for anything they shouldn’t still have. Well she did at least. Obsidian on the other hoof was frisked, as they knew very well their spells and machines didn’t work on him.

“Are you sure you don’t want to check under my hood,” Obsidian had taunted one of the armored ponies.

“I would take it as a personal kindess if you didn’t. Otherwise, I will shoot you should that hood find itself anywhere other than over your face,” replied the armored pony as politly as he could.

Summer snickered to herself. After all the visits to the bank, there wasn’t much room with this bunch for him to feed off of. It still didn’t keep him from trying, though.

Up by the main door, a rust colored earth pony emerged. His head was mostly bald save for the tiny mohawk racing down the center. An old bullet wound ran the length of the right side of his face, just under his tired eye. The armor he wore was thicker than his subordinates, with a similar logo, but the shoulder rifle attached to him was a terrifying piece of equipment.

Once spotting the two, the pony waved to them.

“He had to be on duty,” Summer grumbled.

“Be nice,” whispered Obsidian.

“You make me,” she whispered back.

As they approached, the rust colored pony said, “Been a while Ms. Stars - and said companion,” giving Obsidian a distrusting glance.

“Always the pleasure Clandestine,” she replied sourly.

Obsidian merely nodded and stood a pace back.

“So what flavour will it be today - I mean, night?” the earth pony glanced at the sky then nodded to himself confirming the latter assessment was correct.

“Trading,” she said.

The security pony that had followed with Obsidians saddlebags dropped them to the ground as Clandestine approached. “Well, in that case I better take a look at what you got.”

She took a step forward blocking him. “Whoa, stud. You don’t determine -”

The stallion put his hooves up not wanting to argue. “Policy change, prairie queen. Them, not me.”

The frustrating disbelief on her face, caused Clandestine to take a step back.

“Policy change!” she said, fighting to control herself. “What policy change?”

“Not everything is considered trade goods anymore. If it’s not on the list there’s no reason to let you in,” Clandestine said carefully.

She wanted to spit nails at him. No, that be too good. Spikes. Bigs ones. Yes, big nasty spikes with thorns. Twisting...

Obsidian, stepped forward. “When did this happen?”

“About a week or so from your last visit, I think. Any who, the point’s moot.” Clandestine pointed to Obsidians saddlebags. “You gonna let me look or am I gonna have to turn you away?”

Obsidian pulled Summer to the side, clearing the way.

Clandestine, spotting the burning rage in her eyes kept his distance as he past.

After he had rummaged through, Summer knew from his look that it wasn’t good.

“Everypony has guns and bullets these days, prairie queen. More so than food. The bank is just not accepting them,” Clandestine told her.

Summer held in the screams of rage that battled to find a victim, squishing them tightly down into her gut. It was a sickly feeling, but she’d let them out on something later where no pony could stop her.

“Can I atleast make a deposit with them or anything for my home?” she asked.

Clandestine shook his head.

Summer stared hard at the armored pony.

“I just do as they tell me, Ms. Stars,” he told her, shifting uneasily.

Obsidian nudged Summer and she eased off. “Then we’re done here.”

“Look, I don’t know how you came about these and I don’t care to know,” said Clandestine, then made a motion to his subordinate. The security pony moved away as Clandestine brought over the saddlebags. “If you really, and I mean really want them bits - try Old Mug. Been doing better than this place. No guarantees mind you.”

Summer rolled her eyes and began to walk away. Every pony knew of the Empty Mug trading post, she raged in her mind. What kind of advice was that!

“We shall take your words into consideration,” Obsidian stated, then nodded politely.

Clandestine distrust still clung to his face about the brown stallion, but nodded back just as politely. “Keep an eye on that prairie queen when you go over there. Old Mug might not have changed, but - his place - has of late.”

With that, Obsidian met up with Summer at the checkpoint.

Once they had gotten far away from the bank, Summer began, “Bunch of cow -.”

“It is what it is,” stated Obsidian. “We’ll have to make due.”

“At this rate folks will be eating bullets,” she said heatedly, spotting her victim. Homing in like a missle, she smashed her rear hooves into the wooden bench, shattering it. Looking around she dared anypony still left in the place to say something. Anything. Just try!

Obsidian, silently stared at her.

She looked back at him, hard. “Don’t be judging me behind that shadow. I know times are tough, but there’s a time and place for anger. We left the time and I made sure as Tartarus, this was the place!”

“Summer,” came the soft tone.

“No, I don’t want to hear it.” She kicked the broken bench again. “It’s my home, Sid! My - families - home! I got nothing else. No family beyond my mother's bones in the dirt! What am I supposed to do, let it burn and start fresh?”

“Yes,” came the reply.

The rage boiled over. “And do what? Come on, say something smart! What should I do? Where should I go? Tell me how I should fucking live!?” She kept her gaze on where his eyes should be behind the shadow and wasn’t letting go. He remained silent. “I can’t just up and leave. Everything is here. My life, my memories, it’s all here!” She hammered into the remains of the bench until it was anything but a pile of rubble.

Exhausted she sat on the ground not caring about the rest of the world. For piety's sake, somepony take the shot, she was done.

Obsidian trotted over to her and she looked up at him defiantly. “Go on, say it. I’m just a stupid mortal clinging to something familiar or whatever you want to say,” she said loudly, then lowered to a mumble.

At first he said nothing, then as it seemed she had pulled a bit of herself together, he pointed to the bench. “I believe you answered for me.”

Glancing at the ruin of what was the bench, she understood the implication.

“We going to the Empty Mug?” he asked.

She took a deep breath, gave him another hard look, then let it go. “Guess so. Who knows, maybe Cherry will be there. Could use a laugh.”

He held out his hoof. She looked at him, then the hoof and conceded.

As they left Haystersburg, they once again passed the welcome sign of woe. As they passed, Obsidian paused, then continued on without Summer being the wiser.

Later that night, a mysterious force tore through the sign leaving nothing save for the portion stating: Abandoned by Canterlot.