The Ones who were Left Behind

Chapters

The Beginning.
Puzzle Pieces
The Ones with the Pieces
The New and The Old

The Beginning.

Our concept of light seems foolish when you look at it from the right angle. We see light as hope, something of significance as if chasing away an accomplishment.However, in reality light is neither good nor evil. It sheds substance on things that shouldn't and mask things that should. I am one such thing, well rather a pony.

And this pony is currently unconscious (pitiful, right?), which really sucks. All I could see was yellow haze which drowned anything else that might resemble shapes. I kept looking at it confused why it was there only to be blared at with a sharp ring. It was so loud yet it seemed to bring me back to the world of the living. AGH! I curled into a ball as a sudden pain erupted from it. I moaned but managed to look for the culprit. Brilliant, why am I in the freaking road get ran over by all these ponies? Wait, where’s shadow? I looked around and spotted him in the corner huddled up like a filly. Why is he there? More questions filled my brain and my brain decided to go into auto pilot mode. I got up and trotted out of the way into the corner. I stood there puzzled by this pony and why he was so important and that’s when the world truly came into focus.

A loud boom erupted from somewhere in the distance and sounds became clear and concise. Screams, everywhere, were coming from ponies running in terror. I think I was part of that flood but what was I running towards? I got on my haunches and surveyed the area over the ponies. There at the end of the street was a few trucks, military by the look of it, and they seemed to be stuck. Ponies were practically trampling over each other in a mad rush to get to…..safety? Yeah that must be it. The trucks barely fit inside the street due to the width of it.

The town I was in a maze to say the least. It was built in a rush to surround the mining pit I worked at. In fact the engineers that built most of this place cut a LOT of corners when it came to building it. One time we had to evacuate the city due a few complexes that collapsed because the foundation gave way. The governor issued an evacuation for the city but when we returned he didn’t lift a finger to fix it. So a lot of us just worked together to move the rubble out of the road and just let it be. I think it’s still like that if I remember correctly. I think this was one such occasion but usually were not this frantic.

I got back down and focused on Shadow again. He was a earth pony colt that had black fur that glistened in the light. His eyes were hazel but occasionally turned green if he was stressed which he was a lot of times. I poked him and tried to get him up. He shrugged me off and didn’t open his eyes. “Shadow if you don’t get up soon I’m going to roll you to the trucks.” I said in a sarcastic tone. He opened his eyes and noticed me standing over me.

“You’re alive? I thought you died when that explosion went off.” He said as if he was talking to a ghost. I remember that. A sudden heat suddenly shrieked its way along my flesh. I looked at my fur and found a lot of it singed. “Ow. Well, I’m alive and so are a lot of other ponies. Besides if you don’t get up soon we won’t get a spot on the trucks.” I said and motioned to the mass that were still screaming chaotically.

We pushed and shoved our way through the crowd and finally arrived at a truck. A pony in military uniform was shouting through a
megaphone to the crowd but since it took me being right next to him to hear him, I think it was a hopeless task. “Form a line! Don’t push! Calm down and we will get as many of you on the trucks!” he shouted with a bit of strain in his voice. It was obvious he had been shouting for a while as his voice cracked a few times while he repeated his message.

I noticed a group of medical ponies scanning the crowd. Odd, what were they doing here? I trotted with the crowd to get a closer look and sure enough the triple butterflies on their hazmat suites signified that they were indeed medical. There were four of them in a cluster near each truck and they each held what appeared to be a bolt-rifle.

I grabbed shadow with my hoof and pulled him near me. He looked at me with a confused look before catching my gaze and shifted closer to me. “What in the hay is medical doing here? This should be a mining accident, not an outbreak!” Shadow said in the highest voice he dared to.

“I don’t know but I think were about to find out. “ I said as we neared the entrance of the truck. A plastic flap was pushed back by the few ponies that made it threw and it revealed a cramped but half full area. A lot of ponies were packed in like sardines along the sides of the back. I started going towards where the flap had opened when a guard put his hoof in front of me.

“Eyes and I.D. please.” He said in a drone. He looked severely bored with his job and honestly I don’t blame him. This job must be mind-numbingly difficult. I passed him my I.D. and so did Shadow while I stuck my muzzle into a machine. A scanner spread across my eyes and turned green.

“You’re free to go ahead sir. Next!” He shouted to Shadow and those behind him. I stuck my head with reluctance into the flap and breathed in the sticky air. I breathed it in with a sigh and put a hoof on the metal floor to hop in.

"CONTAMINATION! WARNING! CONTAMINATION!” A robotic voice blared from behind me. I quickly turned my head to see Shadow backing away slowly from the machine. It had turned red and my friend was going to be gunned down. The medical group on the side of the truck kicked into action and time practically froze. My mind raced to decide what to do and that’s when I decided to go with the stupid choice. I threw myself off the truck and aimed for the group. They never saw it coming. My body landed on top of two mares and a younger colt. The others backed away stunned by me. I didn’t allow them a second choice as I rammed the last two with my head and grabbed the rifles. I slung over my shoulder and ran back towards Shadow. The crowd screamed away from him like a flood. It was truly amazing to watch since most of these ponies were fellow miners. Many were covered in soot and ash from the mine but some appeared to be shop keepers.

“Shadow, run! Run for your life!” I shouted over the crowd. He didn’t need to be asked twice as he bolted down the narrow street. He wasn’t the quickest of ponies, and yet he seemed to be reaching speeds that I was having a hard time reaching. We galloped with the wake of the crowd until the crowd settled in around us. Apparently back here they hadn’t gotten the memo since many just yelled at us that we were going the wrong way and such things. My legs burned but we didn’t stop. I could feel him next to me as we galloped through the streets and I could tell he was afraid. His eyes were nearly bloodshot as he kept galloping with desperation.

“Shadow, turn right! I think we can hide in this store!” I shouted while I carefully raised my hoof and nudged him the direction of a local book store I went to. The colt was nice enough and I don’t think he left usually when evacuations were issued. It’s not like many people cared if ponies were left behind or not since many just thought they were insane.

The door opened with little resistance as we tumbled through it. I fell on my face and Shadow stumbled into me, falling on top of me. We laid on the floor breathing heavily as the world settled into a set position. What did it mean? Was he contaminated, and if so what did that mean? I lowered my breath to make my heart slow down as I got up off the wooden floor. Shadow was quickly recovering but he was still freaked out. Honestly I don’t blame him. I mean, those ponies would’ve killed him without a second thought and no one would’ve cared! Seriously how screwed up in the head do you have to be if your going to kill your own kind just because a light turned red.

However, what did it mean that he was contaminated? Surely it’s not just flu or something, but what is so bad that someone would be shot on sight if infected with it?

“Shadow, what did you do?” I said. He got up slowly and looked at me with wide eyes.

“W-why? What happened?” He said as he trotted forward towards me. He stopped about a foot from me and just stared through me.

“Shadow, you OK man? You were about to be shot and I saved you, but right now you need to tell me why the entire town thinks you’re a threat.” I said as I watched him carefully. I stepped around him as he proceeded to stammer gibberish. He looked ok enough, besides a few tufts of hair that appeared to be dirty from him lying on the ground. My eyes followed his body still and as I turned to the front I spotted it. A few pieces of hair had been parted by something and on his skin was a scab in the shape of claw mark. Probably one of his useless cats he always finds around the streets of the town. I went to the front of him and circled him again to make sure I didn’t miss anything but to my dismay I couldn’t find anything. Could a scratch cause the wrath of Celestia to find us? I stared into his eyes and tried to shake him. He was as stiff as a rock and he seemed to blubber more nonsense out of his mouth. So, I decided to slap him. My hoof slammed across his face and his pupils expanded to their normal size.

“Ow! What the hay was that for?” He said looking at me with a scowl.

“you need to tell me why you have brought Celestia’s wrath on our head. If you don’t give me a good answer soon im going to shove you out that door again.” I said as I pointed out the glass door. He turned around and backed away from it.

“i-I don’t know. I did everything as instructed but then it turned red and everypony started screaming and-and and-“ He stammered and broke down into repeating and until he just froze. He did this a lot which is really annoying when you want a straight answer out of him. I slapped him again and he returned to normal.

“Ow, why do you keep hitting me?” he sighed as he looked down. “I can’t take this pixel. I don’t know why it went off but all I have to say is that I need your help. Can we go home?” he said as he looked at me with desperate eyes. He had always depended on me I guess. I think it may have been back when he worked in sector F.

That sector produced salt from a mine that had to be mined by some of our heavier drills. One such drill was operated by Shadow and his companion Duct tape. It was tough work but the drills got the job done and Shadow was known to be a good driver. However, one day there was a ore vein we later came up with the name “difficile” which is just another word for hard. Either way it ended up breaking the engines that powered the drill and Duct went to go check it out. He examined the engine and got a bit close to the strap that went from the motor to the gears. He shouted to turn it on and Shadow did as he was told. Unfortunately he shouldn’t have done that since from what I heard the strap was broken at a point when found. We guessed that it was weak from trying to power its way through the vein and when it broke the strap went straight through duct, bone and all. He didn’t stand a chance as it flew out at speeds that sent it into the rock wall. In fact when we found the accident, Duct was in two pieces that were perfectly separated and the strap was embedded into the wall about 2 feet. That is a really fast considering the rock was bedrock! After that Shadow has been a mess when it came to blame. He still blames himself for his death and whenever someone says that he was involved somehow he breaks down. He has since worked with me in sector B that deals with refinery.

“Yes, we can but I’m going to yours. It’s closer to here and I think my place is a mess compared to yours.” I laughed as I said this but Shadow just nodded as he started towards the door.

“Wait, I know another way. We should probably go through the backdoor of this place since there is a flood of ponies out there. He looked out the glass door and I followed his gaze. Surprisingly there was no one out there. In the distance a few gunshots went off but other than that nothing was there.

“Well, I guess we can go that way, but first let me find the owner. He’s a good friend of mine and I want to make sure he got out of town. “ I said to him.

“Yeah, I wondered where Scotch was. I hope he made it out ok.” He said as he chose his words carefully. It seemed forced and a bit akward but at least I couldn't blame him for anything. Yet.

We trotted into through the store with hesitance. Our muffle hoof-steps resounded against the wood with dull thuds as we scanned each aisle. Nothing appeared to be amiss except for a few books thrown off the shelves. Shadow shrugged his shoulders as we cleared the last row and stopped at the cashier.

“Must not be here Pixel. Come on, I have a warm bed that is calling my name.” He said with a bit annoyance.

“Ok, but I just hope he made it to safety.” I said as I scanned the area again. I was about to turn back when I noticed something. It was barely noticeable but it showed beneath the door. In fact what made me more suspicious is that the cash register was empty and left open.

I slowly trotted over to the door that led to the backroom and nudged it with my hoof. He didn’t give to my nudge so I tried shoving it with my two hooves. With a bit of effort the door crawled open. I poked my head through the gap I made and noticed a grey body laying behind the door. It was scotch no doubt and it looked like he was severely wounded. He wasn’t moving and what I stood in was most likely his blood. Three bullet holes were pronounced in the side of his chest.

“Scotch…. My friend, may you rest in Celestia’s bosom.” I said as tears streamed down my face. I leaned down and closed his eyelids and with a final kiss I stepped out of the room and closed the door behind me.

Shadow looked at me with confusion and then noticed the blood on my hooves and put two and two together. “Pixel, I'm so sorry. “He said quietly. I walked past him towards the door part furious at whoever did it and half sad for the death of my friend.

We were almost to Shadows house now and I honestly didn’t care about anything. I was numb from head to hoof with the feeling of nothingness. Why had someone killed him? I couldn’t answer any of the questions since I didn’t know the answers and yet that didn’t stop my brain from slamming more and more of them on me. I was so caught up in this that Shadow has to shove me to the point that I fell. Weeee! At least this was fun before I hit the ground.

“Ooooooooooow. What is it Shadow? What do you want?” I said as I got up and looked at him. He was completely oblivious to me but instead he stared at something in the distance. I followed his gaze and noticed a little filly playing in the streets. Well not exactly playing since it appeared that she was just trotting around in circles with her teddy bear.

“Oh, well then! Let’s go see where her parents are shall we?” I said as I walked towards her. He slowly nodded but followed behind me hesitantly.

“I don’t like the look of her. Something just feels…wrong.” Shadow said as he looked at her with a worried scowl. Honestly he can’t act like a child himself but I can understand his reaction. I could feel it too, like a bad vibe or something.

We trotted up to her slowly but eventually reached where she was. I closed my eyes and tried to put on my best “please don’t be alarmed but the whole world has gone to hay and we would appreciate it if you went to your parents preferably with us” face.
“Hey there! I hope you don’t mind us passing by but we really are wondering where your parents are at. Could you point us to them?” I said with an earnest tone. She turned towards us slowly and we suddenly realized what was her teddy bear.

“SWEET CELESTIA!” I cried as she dropped a pony head that was half eaten. I couldn’t believe we hadn’t noticed it before but her skin was raw to the point of cracking places. It was yellow but most of it was a dull brown to the point that in some places, holes had been opened. Her rotting organs could be seen through the holes and to my horror she started crawling towards us. Her smiling cutie mark seemed to mock us as she cried a scream that was so shrill we had to put our hooves over our ears.

“Shadow, book it! just run!” I shouted over the scream. He didn’t need to be told twice as we galloped in fear from the monster that used to be a filly. However, as we galloped away another voice seemed to entwine into the scream. It was faint but it spelled two words.

“Help Us”

Puzzle Pieces

I slammed the door shut behind us. I fumbled with the doorknob and finally managed to find the lock and with a twist the door was locked. I backed away and bumped into Shadow. Not surprisingly, he was puking on the floor of his apartment. He looked at me when he stopped heaving. "what was that......thing?" he muttered weakly.

I stared at him and tried to find the words to answer him. Monster? No she was something else. Something about her seemed off, like she was....dead. His mind filled in the word and it the world became a whole new shade of confusing. More questions filled his brain. Did this have anything to do with the mine? If so what did we stumble upon that could cause that? We had left somewhere around 2 in the afternoon and as far as I remember, nothing was found besides iron and the occasional ruby which was fought over by the local miners like moths to a light.

I mustered up some strength and delivered the truth to shadow. " shadow, i dont think we are safe. That mare was dead! There was no way she could have survived with that amount of damage. The only thing that makes sense is that we found something that caused corpses to reanimate or something. Like in those comics we read!"

"you mean zomponies? Come on pixel do you take me for a filly?" he said rolling his eyes.

"yeah. I guess your right. But what could keep a mare living after sustaining injury like that?"

"i don't know pixel but im scared. Ever since this morning when that explosion went off I havent been able to shake the feeling like something is off in the air. For now i guess we can only sit and wait." shadow said as he walked around the mess he made and pulled a chain from a lamp. The warm orange glow from the lamp filled the room and melted into the farthest reaches of the apartment. His apartment was pretty nice considering he didnt make the best of paychecks. A couch and a coffee table sat in the main living room while a shag carpet covered the space between the door and the kitchen. The light fell on a single door that was open a bit. It sat near the end of the hallway and it was most likely his living quarters but from what I saw. I think he used it as a show off room. Multiple CONAN the barbarian posters showed through the gap. As i looked around some more I walked into the kitchen. "hey shadow is it ok if i ate something? Im famished!"

He looked over from where he was and nodded. Meanwhile he seemed to be grimacing at the puke that was currently all over his shag carpet. From inside the fridge I grabbed a hay sandwich (wrapped in a ziploc bag of course) and closed the door. The room suddenly got a bit brighter and I turned to see a second lamp was on. "hey if it isnt too much can I offer to clean up that mess for you?" I said motioning towards it.

"Oh yes please!" Shadow said nodding his head violently. Any faster and i swear it would've come off. I focused and with a bit of effort I floated the puddle up and into the trash bin. With the puke gone shadow ran into the kitchen and grabbed a rag and what looked like bleach. Then he went to the spot and proceeded to sterilize it to oblivion with a crazed look. I found it a bit odd since I was sure I got everything off but Shadow was always a bit on the clean side. In fact now that i think about it this place practically seems sparkling. Boy if he sees my apartment he would probably have a heart attack. I chuckled under my breath and started stuffing my face with the sandwich. Man shadow knows how to make a mean sandwich. The bitter herbs of oregano and tomato filled his mouth, and in the background was something tangy but he couldn't place his finger on it. I finished the sandwich i plopped onto the couch. He didn't own a tv but instead had multiple board games that im assuming he played by himself. Looking around though i spotted a book. It was huge but it managed to fit into the crevice between the wall and the couch. I picked it up and turned it towards its cover. "The fall of the changeling empire" was spelled out in a greenish gold border. I guess this is wear his fascination with those rocks came from. I don't blame him, I mean it's like finding parts of roam or atlantis. We talked for awhile and the sun eventually sat on the sill of his apartment window. "Well, i think it's time to head to bed. Do you have a spare blanket that i can use tonight?"

"Yeah let me go get it." he said as he went to a door. He opened it and brought out a blanket with red an green patches on it. It looked pretty thick and when he handed it to me i smelled a fragrant scent of flowers. Probably a lily or something, i thought and i said thank you. We parted ways and I snuggled up for the night. Soon darkness enclosed me and I was fast alseep.

I usually don't have dreams besides the occasional nightmare about suffocating inside a giant donut (don't ask me, its weird) however this time was different. I had control of my body and it felt very real, almost like i was actually there. Looking around i recognized the area known as sector F. It was a salt deposit that we had found awhile back and some bigshot company saw oppurtunity and bought it out. I got moved to a different sector but i still remember it by the smell of raw salt and other minerals. I wandered inside and found it abandoned, save for a mining drill that was lodged into the wall. It looked like it had broken into a chamber or pocket in the earth. My mining squad occasionally ran into them and had to run for the hills quickly. They were usually filled with gases that were toxic if you breathed them in. I was curious why I was being showed this but decided to have some fun with the dream and explore the interior. Afterall its only a dream. I squeezed in between the massive drill and the rock and stumbled inside.

This wasnt an ordinary pocket thats for sure. As I looked around in the dim light I revealed that the chamber was made entirely of hive. A tunnel ran out in both directions and without me knowing personally my dream had teleported me down one of them. A green light blinked at the end of the darkness. I trotted slowly towards it unsure of what was going to happen. The light grew in intensity and soon i was overcome by it. Everything was green and that was the only thing that I saw. It was almost blinding but as quickly as it grew it retreated back. Weird, I thought as I wandered into a section that was lit. A lamp was on its side and supplied light in an angle. There, near the edge of the beam a hoof appeared and a deep resonating gurgle filled the tunnel.

I woke up with a gasp. I was drenched in sweat and the blanket was strangling me. I fumbled with the blanket in frustration and managed to kick it off with my hooves. Man what a dream, I could've sworn it was real! I looked around to make sure there was no danger. If you count the whirring sound of Shadow's fan as terrifying, everything looked fine. My mouth was parched and I got off the couch. I wandered into the kitchen which was tranquil in the night. I looked down at my hoof and clicked the LED on my watch on. 3:29 glowed dimly on the watch. Odd time to wake up I thought. I opened the freezer door and a hiss escaped it. I floated out 2 ice cubes and closed the door again. You know, I wonder if ice cubes can melt while in stasis? I wondered while i searched for a glass. I eventually found one and i filled it with sink water. I dropped the ice cubes in with a plink and pulled it up to my mouth.

Thump........thump,thump.........thunp,thump,thump.........thump. I nearly choked on the water so I set the glass down finding myself no longer thirsty. Who in celestia's name is up this late at night? I found myself wondering as I trotted nervously towards the door. I pulled myself up to the peephole and almost let out a scream as I stared in disgust and shock at what I saw.

In front of the door was a pony so disfigured i wasn't sure if it was a mare or colt. It's face was missing parts of it's cranium and bits of flesh hung to the side by strings of flesh. Along his body were numerous bite marks that seemed to be from other ponies. The sound came from his broken hoof as it swung it bluntly against the door. It's single dead eye stared blankly at the door like it had nothing better to do. Then it stopped. In horror I watched as backed up and galloped into the door. The door shuddered but stayed intact. The pony wasnt so lucky as it's had snapped his head clean off and the body slid down the door. Unfortunetly it didn't seem to care as it pushed itself back up and sarted hitting the door again but this time with it's head limply hung onto the side of his neck by some nerves and muscles.

I couldn't watch anymore and i backed away in fear and disgust. I had to barricade the door and wake up Shadow I thought. I dragged the two seat couch with my horn and pushed it in front of the door with some effort. With a final shove I wedged it into place in time to block another slam. I galloped into Shadow's room and shook his sleepless form awake. "What do you want pixel. I'm trying to sleep." he said lazily as he reached for the lamp. The glow filled the room and his expression changed as he saw fear in my eyes. "what happened? Did you break something?"

I shook my head in exasperation. "No it's worse. There is something at the door."

"mhm, is that all? It's probably old man jonhson that sleepwalks out of his apartment occasionally. Just tell him to bugger off" he said rolling his eyes,

"No! well, maybe it's him but I dont know! It's one of those things we ran into. It's torn apart and yet its still moving! It's trying to break in-" i found myself cut off by a sound so bone chilling it cut into my very soul. The sound of desperation or pain shreiked into the room and eventually died out. His eyes widened and got out of bed quickly. He grabbed his knife and exited the room with me.

We crept into the living room and made our way to the door. Silence seemed painful as I listened for anything, anything at all, that would reveal that it was coming back. I relaxed after a few minutes and let out a small laugh. It was short lived as a loud crash came from the door. I jumped and wrapped my magic around the coffee table. I threw it towards the door and glass shattered everywhere. I lodged it further into the couch and embedded it in as part of the barrier. Another thump resounded from the door and I desperately looked around for something else I could throw into the barricade. Nothing, besides the lamp which I had knocked over and a small circle pedestal that supported the other lamp. I grabbed all of them and Shadow pushed them into place. He backed up and we watched in horror as the door shuddered violently. There was probably 4 or 5 of those things by the amount of sounds they were making. Between the shudders from the door, groaning and grumbling came from behind it. It was like the sound of hungry pirrahnas waiting for something to fall into their pool. We were trapped, and Shadow knew it too.

"Shadow, is this there another way out?" he shook his head frantically as he looked at the door in fear. I looked around and noticed a window. I opened it and looked out. It was positioned over an alleyway and a garbage bin sat below it. Form what it looked like it was about 2 stories down. I didn't want to do it but this may be the only option we had. I brought my head back in and the sound of splintering wood came from the door. I looked over and a purple hoof was poking out of the hole that it had made. I galloped into Shadow's room and grabbed his blanket. Then i ran back to the window and started tying it to an iron post outside the window. As i finished tying it I heard more splintering and a whine as the hinges started to buckle. Shadow stared at it in terror and when i shouted to him he didn't answer. So I wrapped his legs in magic and yanked him out the window and jumped after him. As we went down I pulled him close and put a barrier spell over us. We hit the bin with a heavy bang and managed to dent it. My horn screamed in pain and everything went black.

The Ones with the Pieces

You know the saying " It feels like im floating on air?" Well floating on air sucks and it does it's job excellently when the world is spinning around you. Oh, did I forget the other fact that it decides to do that when all of tartarus breaks lose? Yeah, life is kinda funny that way.

I groaned as i pulled myself out of my blackout. Shadow was standing over me and looked relieved when i seemed to be waking up. Great friend you got there pixel, I said to myself, you can always count on him to cower while your knocking on death's door for a refund. I stared up at the skies and tried to concentrate on something other than the ringing pain in my head. Flowers, those were nice. Especially the ones that were purple and if you got to close they messed with your body. Or was it blue? I honestly can't remember since the last time I used said flower it made my head swell to twice its size before I could prank my friend. I looked over at Shadow since he had lent me his hoof to get up with. Was he speaking to me, or is he just too quiet to hear. I tried listening some more and soon the world snapped back into reality.

RiiiiiiiiNNNNNNGGGGG.........the world came back into focus as my ears started registering new sounds. "Pixel! Are you okay?" he shouted next to me in as if being louder helped my case. I shook off the pain that still remained and grabbed his hoof. With a heave he managed to pull me off the ground and I got up the rest of the way. The world took a dip to my right and I tried to counter it by leaning to the left. I failed and i stumbled back into a crouch. Come on pixel, get up! I forced my bones to work in my favor and stabilized myself in one point. Eventually the world stopped going in different directions like a clown house and decided to settle back into place.

" Alright Shadow, I think im good. Lets get going. Who knows how fast those things are and if they will pursue us. We need to get out of here, now." i said with emphasis on the word now and Shadow's eyes went wide.

" But my stuff! My grandma's lamp!" He said in desperation.

I pressed my hoof hard against him and he stumbled into the wall of the alley. " 2 things! One, I have no idea what in luna's name is going on around here! People that were once ponies are eating each other and then coming after those that are still alive! It's not natural and I plan to live instead of becoming one of those.....THINGS! And second of all, your lamp was thrown into the barrier and im pretty sure it broke since it was right next to the door hinge. I'm sorry but you need to adapt faster or I will, leave you behind. Do you understand?" I finished with a resounding challenge. All the color disapearred from his face and he meekly nodded. " Good. Now first, before we make it to the edge of the city, i'm going to the gun store so that I have a bit of strength against whatever this thing is. You coming?" I said.

"Y-yes....." he managed to choke out before practically galloping up to my heels as I walked down the alleyway.

Nervously I poked my head out and looked for danger. Nothing seemed out of place except for the occasional bump in the night. The moon cast light down on the street and I looked for the road sign. Hoofington and winnypenny read across both sides and I walked out into the open to try and get my bearings. The city was layed out like an oval since the mine took up alot of the interior. Shadow lived near the outskirts but was deep enough in that it took him 10 miles to get to the very edge. Believe me we counted since we had to walk that distance multiple times during one of our escapades with a friend near the very edge. The gun store I had in mind was run by a nice pony with the biggest biceps biceps you have ever seen. Ironically that was also his name, bulking biceps usually read on his badge, but i was never sure since he kept changing it to rogers or Hi my name is bob. It looked like we were gonna have to trot about a hour to get to him. I told Shadow about this and he nodded. With the plan set, we headed in the direction of the shop.

The streets were cold and barren, save for the occasional taxi cart which looked ridiculous when you stop and contemplate there color scheme. it was quiet except for our footsteps, almost tranquil. I half expected the streets to be filled with those, things, but apperantly they weren't.

"So, your grandmother's lamp,what was she like?" I said trying to strike up a conversation.

He looked at me with a bit of frustration . "She isn't dead!" he said in a cross tone.

"Then why were you willing to risk life and limb for it?"

With that he stopped and pulled to a stop in front of him. I turned and I could see tears streaming down his face. "It's just, I can't take it anymore! What in celestia's mane(say what?) is causing all of this!? First we have to evacuate and then my house is raided by things I barely saw. AND I JUST CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!" he said as he layed down and started sobbing on his hooves. I honestly don't know what to do with him anymore, i thought sarcastically. I trotted over to him and picked his head up. A warm smile should've greeted him but apperantly he saw something else and shrugged my hoof off. "It's fine. Let's just go." he said in anger and got up. With that he started forward at a fast trot.I tried catching up with him and settled on falling a bit behind him. Man, what could've happened to make him like this? I wondered through different situations as my body went into auto-pilot. Maybe he was raised up on a rock farm near the coast of ponyville. Also I wonder how those ponies are doing there. Not the rock farm but the ones in ponyville. Supposedly they have a group called the mane six that keeps different monsters away from that city. Hmmf, well they missed all the other cities that need help. I kept dreaming about different things even to the point of a giant donut eating everything (that was a weird daydream.) and soon we found ourselves at the shop. A loud crack like gunfire echoed through the air and my reality became a whole lot sharper. I looked around for the source and low and behold, Bulking Biceps hung out the window with a sniper rifle.

"Hey there big guy! Were still alive down here! Mind if we come in?" I shouted up to him.

He looked around for us and when he did he instantly lit up. I could tell he was happy by the amount of fluttering his tiny wings did. It looked absurd but i've come to not question it. He immediatly nodded excitedly and pulled himself out of the window with a bonk to his head. From there i heard a set of crashed before he opened the door to the shop."Dude, pixel! I thought you were a gonner man!"he said in a surfer accent. His girl friend poked her head out from behind him. Her grey mane and derped eyes always gave a smile to my heart and I was glad that she Nor he was dead. He came in for the hug and I found myself in one of his famous bear hugs. I felt the air queeze out me and I managed to squeak out " air, I need air." He realeased me with a timid smile and derpy made her way forward.I haven't seen her in years and yet she seemed to have never grown. She looked at biceps and motioned for him to get out of the way.

"Come in guys! I have some stew that we were goinbg to eat soon. In fact i accidently made a lot more than i should've but i guess it's ok since your here!" She said and proceeded to sshove us inside. Good ol' derrpy, I thought. You can count on her to mess up but she always makes it seem better. I guess she is like a destructive angel, I thought with a chuckle.

"Thank you for your hospitality, I got a lot of stuff to tell you guys." I said as I nudged Shadow to say thanks as well. He seemed a bit annoyed but it disapeared quickly as he timidly said thanks.

As we walked inside the smell of cabbage and cauliflower stew warmed our nostrils. The wooden floor seemed to be infused with the smell of charcoal and the walls had countless guns on it. The main register sat on a extension from the left wall and a piece of wood completed the bond to the other wall. The glass interior revealed many gun holders that seemed to have been vacated recently. I don't blame him honestly but it kinda looked odd with guns everywhere but where it mattered. He led us pass the register and picked up a piece of wood that was attached by a hinge. He led derpy through first and then motioned for us to come in. We walked through a curtain and into their living room. It was warm but not too hot. A shag carpet was layed out near their couch in the corner and a table was put near the middle. A chandelier hung from the ceiling and cast light over the table. It sat really close to the table so I had to duck when we passed it. He pulled up a chair and sat in it. His cotton shirt ruffled and looked like it was going to rip apart with his every movement. It was a miracle he even got it on. I pulled up beside him and Shadow followed suit. Derpy disapeared into the kitchen and returned with a pot of stew. She was wobbling under its weight, so I decided to help her. I got up and levitated it to the table. She slipped a pad under it and I set it down.

"So how have you guys been? I said inquistively.

"Fine! Never better." He said as he served himself and Derpy. "Want some?" He said motioning to the stew. Both of us nodded greedily and a bowl of warm soup was sent down towards us. They seemed to be rather close, almost like they....no. Did they?

"Are you guys married?" I said jokingly.

" As a matter of fact we are! We got married near april." Derpy spoke up with excited glee and accidently knocked her spoon off the table. "oops, i'll get that." She ducked under the table and shot back up with rejoice as she held the spoon like a prize. We all laughed as derpy swung it around like it was a cherished possesion. This is why I missed her so much, I thought mildly.

"So what brings you here at 8 in the morning my friends? I barely got to finish my target practice. You know how I like to do that when the police abandon the city!" He said with a laugh. I remembered that he usually didn't leave the city when it had to be abandoned. He was weird like that, but I didn't know he practiced in the streets. I guess thats what he was doing when we found him.

"We actually just came from Shadow's apartments.We had to leave because of something that caused this evacuation. There are....things wandering the streets and I think all of us are in danger. I came here to get some weapons and try and get us out of town." I said seriously.

He looked at me with humor on his face but I quickly killed it as I hit the table. " oh, your not joking. Well, what are these things that are so dangerous? Surely it can't be that bad if it has to do with the mine."

" At this point im not sure anymore. All I do know is that Shadow and I have been running from ponies that aren't dead. They.....are incredibly strong, can survive the worst of blows, and they don't stop. Even now I dont think guns will make much of a difference for our survival." I said, leaving everyone in silence. The meal suddenly didn't seem as jolly as it once did and Shadow stopped stuffing his face to sit in silence with the rest of us.

The New and The Old

I cooled down and looked back down at my food. It didn't look as appealing as it once did. Had I really needed to be harsh? "Look, guys, im sorry. It's just....were stuck here with a big chance of dying. It's not like last time when that guy screamed and we all ran, only to find out he was scared by his pal. This time were facing a foe that is forsaken by celestia alone." I looked around trying to build morale but only found despair. Derpy was physically shaking and Bulking Biceps moved over to comfort her. He looked up and his expression changed from one of complacence, to that of anger.

With gritted teeth he said. " You need to leave now. Take what you need and get out of here." With that he pointed us out the door and turned back to comforting derpy.

I went to open my mouth again but Shadow shook his head and got out of his seat. I followed him and we started on getting some weapons. I grabbed a shotgun and what I believe was 16 gauge ammunition. I had no clue what 16 or 24 gauge meant but to be safe I grabbed some of the 24 as well. With that at my side I went to the handgun section and picked out a magnum. A elegant weapon that was crafted in a way a western theme, it came with a description that pointed out the ammo it required. I grabbed 3 of the cases and put it into the stasis bubble that was quickly filling up. I looked for Shadow and sure enough he had found a backpack. He threw it towards me and I shoved everything in it. With everything but the revolver and 6 bullets put into the backpack, I swung it onto my shoulders and moved towards Shadow to help. We worked in silence until we were all done.With that finished I shoved the bullets into the magnum and put it into the side pocket of the backpack. With a final glance around I noticed Biceps watching us. I walked over to him and handed the amount of bits I had.

"I don't want your money Pixel. If things are that bad out there your gonna need it. I've known you for a long time and I wish you could stay here, I honestly do, but the best decision for me is to hold the fort and wait it out. I'm sorry to do this. Good luck out there." He said with a final sigh.

"Thank you Biceps, I won't forget you. When or if I make it to safety i'll send some people your way to get you some help." I said.

He nodded and turned back through the door. "So, do we just go then?" Shadow said with dismay. I trotted through the door and out into the open with Shadow following behind me. The early sun light peeked out over the city blocks. "Yes, were going. Were going to find our way out and from there were going to write the longest complaint letter to celestia. What do you say shadow? You up for it?"

He nodded and followed after me into the streets of the dead. We trotted towards the sun which I believe was east or something. If we followed one direction hopefully we will pop out one end right? I thought to myself. We kept trotting for what felt like hours, which wouldn't be so bad except we were running off of 6 hours of sleep and a half breakfast. I called us to a halt in front of a donut shop. Shadow nearly cried, and honestly I almost did too since the only stores we had seen since Biceps store was either raided or looked really unfriendly. In fact, the store was almost intact. By almost I mean the entire building was slanted towards another building. Guess you can thank those engineers for that. Shadow tripped on the sidewalk did a ungraceful slam into the store window. His nose was pressed against the window like he was a small foal on christmas. I laughed at him as he pulled his face off the window with a groan. He rolled his eyes and walked through the door. A sharp ding-a-ling resonated through the shop seeming to bring life back into a almost silent city. It was unnnerving how silent it was, almost like the things didn't walk around during the day. I shook the fantasies out of my mind and followed Shadow in. Inside the store was a bunch of tables scattered here and there. They were still upright but the chairs were hastily thrown this way and that as many ponies ran as fast as they could. The room was still alight by a single light fixture that seemed to be fading. The place seemed to rely on mostly outside light to illuminate it. The early sun cast shadows over the main register and the cabinet where they held, donuts.

No one had been in this place, or if they had they obviously didn't have a sweet tooth since the entire cabinet was lined to the brim with donuts of all shapes and sizes. Pink ones, green ones, even ones that were shaped and colored like pick axes. It was ironic but half of the population thought of it as a city trademark. The pick axe thing, not the donuts. That would be strange though, an entire city known for it's donuts, I thought to myself. I snapped out of my stupor and noticed Shadow yanking on something behind the cabinet.

" Shadow, what are you doing? No one is going to care if we break a glass pane here or if we graffiti the townhall. Just stand back and i'll sort it out quickly and neatly." I said with as much posh smugness as i could muster on the laster few words. Shadow rolled his eyes and stood back from the stand. With him in a safe distance I wrapped my magic around the hilt of the gun and whipped it forward. As it made contact with the glass I pulled back on it so that it made only cracks in the glass. It shattered but stayed together, which seemed to amaze Shadow. I returned the gun to my pocket and focused on containing all of the shards in the same place. Then with a yank I pulled them all out and collapsed it into a small ball. I set it on a table and let go. Like a salt pile, it fell apart and spilled a bit on the floor. Oh well, I tried, I thought as I went back to the donuts. I started with the blue ones that were near the bottom becausde they were supposedly 'fancy" donuts. I chomped down on it and a explosion of flavors filled my mouth. They honestly deserve that title, I thought as I gorged myself on them. Shadow was right next to me sitting on his flank, while he shoved donut after donut into his mouth. We were having the time of our lives and I turned towards Shadow to see that his entire face was covered in frosting. I laughed at him and started rolling on the ground.

"Whmmph?" He said through a stuffed mouth.

This only made me laugh harder till Shadow eventually finished his donut and laughed with me. My sides hurt but it felt great to laugh. After the moments from yesterday it felt like there was no hope left for us. Even our stay at the apartment feels like a week ago. I got up and walked into the back. As I walked into the back room a rancid smell of something burning intruded my nostrils. I looked for the smell and quickly found it in the back corner. There, one of those things was being deep fried from the wasted up in grease. The skin of the pony was old and pulled taunt around the bones. It was probably dead for awhile due to the condition of it's flesh, I observed. I looked around to see who did it and eventually found a messgae, written in blood. "We are all dead" was smelled out in red across the back wall. The owner of the blood had made a long trail out the mergency door. It was cracked a bit open and when I pushed it, a small squeak escaped the hinges. I walked out into the back alley which reaked of leftovers and whatever else that was in the trash. In the corner a massive pool had accumulated and whatever that was there before was eaten and dragged away.

I pulled myself from the seen and walked back in to get Shadow. I walked back into the main shop and found him with a smg in his mouth. He had it pointed at another pony who was terrified out of his wits. " Shadow. Put the gun down nice and easy." I said in a quiet and calm voice. He seemed startled by my sudden prescence but complied by setting the gun on the floor. " You there, what brings you here?" I said questioning him. He startled a bit but managed to choke out a few words. "My brother....he is hurt, bad. I came here to let him rest. He can't go very far. I'm shocked he managed to walk this far out from the mine." He pulled out a sack and offered it to us. He held it in stasis and that is when I noticed what he actually looked like. His mane and tail were electric yellow and I swear he could have been on fire if it weren't for the green fur that contrasted his hair. His horn produced a emerald tinge to his magic. " I don't want your money. In fact, where is your friend. Maybe we can help." I said offering politely putting a hoof on the sack. A look of relief washed over him and he thankfully nodded. I swear if every pony nods this fast im gonna have to get a few neck braces. I caught him by the shoulder and held him back a bit. "By the way whats your name? That way if me or my friend have to shoot you because your lying we know what to put on your gravestone." He looked at me with a bit of worry but shook it off. "The name's Emeral sir. Emeral Danger." He said and quickly motioned for us to follow him. I motioned for Shadow to travel behind me and we set a bit down the street. The afternoon sun beat down on us yet the boy in front didn't seem to mind. We walked for a few minutes before coming across a bridal store.

The words "we are the ones who bring your life to a new beginning" spelled out the motto for the store. 'Lyra and Bon Bon industries' was emblazed on the front window. Emeral opened the door and disapeared for a few seconds before returning with something in tow. He shoved the door open with obvious effort and desperately tried to get his brother out into the street. So, he really is in need: I thought. I wrapped my own stasis around him and together we lifted him up and out of the store. He was a big colt with a black mane. His yellow fur was covered in soot, almost as if he went through a fire or two. He was obviously a pegasi but his left wing was torn to shreds. Multiple bullet holes were evident in the soft flesh of the wing. I stepped up to the pony and looked for more wounds as I set him down. None were evident besides the occasional nicks here and there that seemed to have scabbed over.

"What happened to him? Raiders? Angry folks? What?" I questioned him as I tried to stop as much of the bleeding by hardening the blood that leaked out of the wing. Thank goodness for those stupid lessons on how to make scabs quicker using magic that I learned in class.

"Yo-our not gonna like the answer..Quite frankly I can't believe it myself if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. It was, our police. The army, whatever they were. They came and sweeped through the mines on a path of destruction. They mowed down some ponies, no, not some, hundreds. Everyone that attempted to leave got shot. Dynamo managed to sneak me out of the mine by causing a distraction but that ended up getting him shot. After that he went into one of his rage things that he does sometimes and he tore pushed them all out of the way and met met up with me. From there he eventually cooled down and thats when I noticed he was messed up bad. Please, can you help me?" He finished with a plead.

I was stunned. Was he serious? Surely celestia wouldn't abandon her people this way. But if the army knew about what was going on here I honestly don't blame them for killing those things. At lease I hope they were and not just killing everypony here. I thought more drastic thoughts before I decided to put a hoof on it. Stop being a coward Pixel. By Celestia's mercy we will make it through this." Yes, we will. Though I can't guarantee your brother is going to ever fly again I can say with certainty that he will live. Im Pixel and this is Shadow. We'll protect you but first you need to help me get him back to the donut shop." I said with a nudge towards Shadow who still seemed to be stuck on what he said. He stumbled out a half hearted agreement and went started towards the pony that was laying down.

"Help me lift him onto Shadow. From there he will support some wait and we will support the rest." I said motioning towards dynamo.

He agreed and at the count of three we picked up the comatose form of Dynamo onto Shadow. With that we set back towards the donut shop. We groaned under the weight of the pony and set him down a coupletimes before we eventually made it to the shop. We pushed open the door with yet another ding-a-ling which seemed a bit too chipper at this time. Shadow escaped from under the pony and pushed stuff out of the way. Emeral gently set his brother down onto the floor with my help and for the first time I saw his eyes.

With some effort I opened my slit eyes to ponies that would either be my death, or salvation.