Tough Split

by regulator133

Rating: everyone
Tags: Crossover, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 1589

Washing up on the shores of an unknown land only happens in dreams, right? Determining what is reality and what is a dream seems far harder than it sounds.

Is there any way you might lose sight of what is dream, and what is real? It seems that it is a common belief that within a perfect enough dream, ponies like to think it possible. However, how do you actually tell what is a dream and what is real? Is hardship a sign of reality, and perfection and happiness a dream? Perhaps it takes looking closer at the littlest things to tell what is what...

Despite the cover image, this story does not contain Luna or Celestia as the primary antagonist/protagonist. Was simply the best representation of the theme I could manage.

This is a VERY loose crossover with the game DayZ, simply using the concept of the game as a part of the story.

Published 2015-07-12 04:20:02 UTC
Last updated 2015-07-12 04:20:02 UTC

Waking up?

The gentle crash of waves on the beach graced her ears as she lie face down in the sand. The water was cold as it sank into her coat, making the one thing meant to keep her warm loose its purpose. Slowly, she came to her senses lying in the sand, the small wet particles digging into her coat to scratch at her skin.

Her eyes opened slowly, ever so slowly, the emerald pools reflecting the dim light of the cloudy dawn gently. They were unfocused for a moment, before they came to rest upon an object that was being slowly rolled around by the slowly rising tide. Out of curiosity, her hoof reached out to grab it. Her throat let out a small groan as she moved a shaking hoof, the coldness that she felt making her movements slow and her muscles ache. Her hoof met the object slowly, even her limited sense of touch could tell that the grainy surface was a wood of some sort. As her hoof ran across the object's surface even longer, she could make out small bumps that were slightly cooler than the plastic, perhaps a metal. She eventually made it to a machined piece of metal, one with many small moving parts. As her eyes began to focus on the object began to clearly be made out as a rifle.

She paid no mind to what it was in detail, instead opting to look down at her body, of which she could see her forelegs and her chest, both covered in wet sand particles. As she looked back at the rest of her body, she could see the waves were washing up to her belly still. She slowly managed to get her hooves under her, her motor control was impaired by her low body temperature which made it a hard task to complete. She could tell she was bordering on hypothermia, and she was worried that she would succumb to it before she could get somewhere she was able to treat herself.

With a stressed grunt, she pushed herself to an upright position. Her legs shook from the coldness she felt, though her entire body was shaking, she felt it the most pronounced in her extremities. She shakily stepped forward towards the rifle, no mind paid to it for now. All she could tell is that it was a rifle, bolt action, and there were a few clips hooked onto its sling. The sling found its way around her neck rather quickly relative to her standing time. She looked to the sky after the somewhat heavy weapon was secured on her body. The sun was in the East still, meaning it was the morning, though the cloud cover obscured any view of the exact location of the massive orb.

She slowly walked to the west, away from the water. Hopefully she would have luck, and find a town, or even a building. A few minutes of walking later, and she was standing in a field of thinly grown grass. The blades were unkempt, and they tickled at her hooves like little feathers as they swayed in the slight breeze. The smell of ocean water still dominated her sense of smell, and the numbness of the cold detracted from her feel of the soft and dry land. Her sight was very monochromatic, some reds showing through, though in the cold her sight was very impaired. In an amazing stroke of luck, she found a two lane paved road which led straight through a small town. She managed a weak smile as she made her way down the road in a weak stumble towards the town, a small wooden cabin in her sights as probably the warmest place there was. Hopefully there was a way to start a fire there, as that would be the best way to warm up. However, a blanket and bed would probably be best.

She stumbled into the town, where she had to mantle a knee high garden fence clumsily before she managed to make it to the front door of the cabin. She was about to reach for the knob, but then she remembered that this was a home. She gave three loud knocks, and awaited a response from the pony inside as she shivered and dripped water on the doorstep. Moments later, instead of hoofsteps, her ears picked up a low groan, then a loud wail. The groans and wails didn't stop though, and they even got louder and closer.

The approaching sounds sparked a fearful reaction from the mare, and it took her no time to muster up an emergency ounce of strength to throw her body through the wooden door. The door slammed open quickly, and the mare ended up lying on her side on the floor, her mind swimming as she struggled to regain control in her legs. Slowly, ever so slowly, she managed to get up as the wailing filled her ears. She gave the door a strong buck, and it slammed shut, making a resounding 'whack', before she leaned her body against it and locked it up tight.

She slowly slid down the door until she was sitting down behind it, panting from the minimal exertion's stress on her weak body. Her ears perked as the wails sounded just past the door for just a mere moment, before they carried past just as quickly, moving off towards the water where she had woken up not an hour ago. She closed her eyes a mere moment, relaxing herself so she might be able to muster enough strength to get up. It took her a few minutes, but even her weak body was able to recover enough strength to get off the ground again.

The cabin's simplicity was astounding. Simply two rooms, the one she was in appearing to be the main room. There was a table in one corner, with a small radio sitting on it which had long since died and worn out. In the corner on the other side of the room was a simple pair of wooden frames containing mattresses of covered straw, with a single quilt and pillow adorning both. The thing that stood out to her was a wood burning iron stove on the wall in lieu of a fireplace. It even had some wood piled beside it! It was an amazing score! However, there was nothing to start the fire except her bare hooves and the wood... Wait! The bullets!

The mare's shaking hooves had a hard time handling the weapon, but they eventually managed to snag a bullet from one of the clips attached to the sling. She inspected it, but upon inspection her weak mind found no way to split the components. She set the weapon and bullet on the table, and went to the other room of the home to inspect it. Inside, there as a lone cabinet and a sink. She immediately went to the sink and turned the knobs to see if there was any water to drink. Anything at all.

She squealed in excitement as water began to come from the spout. She noticed the plumbing ran through the roof, indicating that it was fed by a tank. She stuck her muzzle in the stream of cool water, and she drank from it greedily, sating her massive thirst before she forced herself to turn off the water. Conservation was necessary. Perhaps when she was healthier, she would be able to check the water level, assuming she intended to stay there.

She turned her gaze to the cabinet. She wiped her mouth with a cold hoof, and she slowly stumbled over to the cabinet. She opened it slowly, looking over its contents. There were several cans of food contained within, two cans of peas, one of beans and a fourth of asparagus. Another interesting thing contained inside was a can of fishing bait, which appeared to be something called... Sardines. She hadn't heard of anything by such a name, but perhaps they were edible.

All these things were brought to the kitchen table, and she smiled. Water, and some food. That would last her a few weeks if necessary she was sure. After a moment, she thought about what had made her look for those two things... Her thoughts were miles away from anything of the like, and yet she had thought to find essential survival materials with ease. It was an interesting thought. She hadn't yet found anything that could help her open the cans yet, so that was not an option. In an incredible stroke of luck, it seemed her stomach was rather settled, and not in need of nourishment. That just left the problem with her freezing.

It occurred to her that she would not yet need a fire... That would warm her too quickly and send her into shock. Instead, she eyed the beds and smiled, walking over to them slowly. She snatched the quilt from one bed, and lie it atop the quilt on the other. She then pulled them back, and lie beneath them, ensuring they covered her entire body before she tucked the edges of the blankets in tightly around her body to ensure minimal loss of heat. That was all she could manage, and she rested her head on the pillow in exhaustion. She knew sleeping in this place, somewhere she was lost in, was a bad idea, but... Wow... Darkness came quickly... And just like that, she was asleep.