Red Feathers

Chapter 2: Words still hurt

It’s all my fault. I had wished her away.

Grabbing my belly, my stomach twisted into a knot, more tears flowing from my eyes. The only sound I could hear was my own sniffling as I lay on my side, my hind paws pressed against my stomach. My long tail didn’t give the slightest twitch as I curled myself harder into a little ball on the same hospital bed I had been on not hours prior.

It felt like I was frozen in time and place, cut off from the rest of the world by the curtain pulled around my bed. The bleach smell didn’t bother me anymore, it was the only thing letting me know that I was still breathing between sniffles.

A voice came from outside the curtain. Miss Fluttershy’s. She was talking in quiet whispers with someone. It was probably Dr. Bonesaw. “She hasn’t spoken for hours. I’m getting concerned.” Her whisper grew into a quiet yell, “I have no idea what to do!”

        Dr. Bonesaw responded back with his own whisper. I was right on my guess. “I’m a wartime physician, not a pediatrician. Working with civies is part of my training, but only as far as physical damage, not psychological. Especially on kids.”

        So many big words. No time to think out their meaning. My sadness started crawling towards anger as I wanted to yell at both of them to go away. I just wanted to sleep and cry, but the energy to yell wasn’t there.

Fluttershy’s harshly whispered back, “What are you implying!?”

“She’s traumatized. You were there when we sedated her out of O’Neill’s grip. She nearly tore his arm off fighting to get free.”

No matter how hard I tried to forget it, it was still there. Blood… everywhere. I hurt O’Neill pretty bad on accident trying to fight my way out of his arms to find Midnight. Maria looked like something had crushed her entire body.

        I caused it all. Caused it by wishing to never see Midnight again. Stupid, stupid, stupidheaded me. I slammed my head over and over into my tear stained pillow, finally burying my head deep into the tear-wetted fabric to muffle my crying.

<>~<>~<>

        The torrent of rain beat down on my fur. It drenched everything from my head to my paws, even my uniform. It was like a million angels were joining me to cry all at once over my head.

        Grabbing my chest, the tight feeling inside it wouldn’t go away. Like my heart had been ripped out and some balled up thorns put in its place. Every breath I took was shallow and hurt as I tried to pull in air.

        “Raven, please, come back inside!” Fluttershy yelled. I looked behind me through the near solid wall of water to see Fluttershy stumble from a gust of wind. The rain falling near sideways.

        Shivering and wet, I shook my head. I wanted to be miserable. I wanted the rain to hide my tears. Gryphons were supposed to be tough.

<>~<>~<>

        How long has it been? My stomach grumbled as Fluttershy dried me with a towel, my uniform lying in a soaked pile beside the entrance. We were back inside the Requiem, the rain still pouring. Water leaked into the ship from the wide hole in the side we entered from. The water following the crumbled pavement like the rocks of a river.

“Dr. Mariposa Amarilla?” Somepony said. I didn’t bother to look, instead gazing at the muddy boot and hoof prints on the metal floor. I tried to get lost staring at them in a vain attempt to think of anything other than the terrible mistake I had made.

Fluttershy stopped drying me. “¿Qué?” she asked, surprised. Her voice sounded like it had an accent. I wasn’t interested. Instead I grabbed the edges of the white towel and pulled the soft cloth around me to keep out the cold.

“Oh, right, they say you only go by your first name,” Whoever it was said. A stallion, or a Human male, “I’m a fan of your work in virology, Fluttershy. Is it true you survived an outbreak of PP-16?” His accent reminded me of a Canterlot noble I had seen on TV.

Even with how sad I was, I smiled a little and giggled. It was funny how he said peepee. Maybe listening would cheer me up? Just thinking about needing to cheer up reminded me how sad I was. I let the sadness that had built up in my chest escape in one big rush of air. A sigh heavy enough to be used as an anchor as my whole body twitched with shivers.

As I struggled to keep happy and warm, Fluttershy’s voice went from its usual soft to… strange. That was all I could describe it as. Strangely snappy, like she was forcing herself to sound professional. “That is a personal matter. How do you know of me? Or even of my work?”

Hoof bumped hoof, then rustling of clothes. They were shaking hooves. “Dr. Globen, assistant-chief virologist of Manehattan General. I came here on one of the Human ships that flew out to collect medical supplies, some report of a strange infection.” He added as an afterthought, “Oh! I almost forgot to tell you how I know of you. You made the newspaper once a few years back, a little backyard shack turned science lab. I must say, you are one driven mare. I’ve read the thesis you wrote when you started your virology Ph.D.”

Whatever they were talking about was lost to me, as well as any fun. My brief bit of happiness was gone as I wrapped myself tighter with the towel and waited.

<>~<>~<>

Slumping in my seat, my groan echoed back at me from the bowl of stew. It tasted like sweaty socks mixed with blood. Or what I thought sweaty socks tasted like. I already knew how blood tasted. Like salt and copper.

Nothing felt right in me. Nothing felt right anywhere in this stupid world. Humans, spaceships, Covenant, aliens… it was all so much to take in. Why couldn’t things just go back to how they were? Back when my Mom and Dad were alive and Midnight too.

I didn’t have an answer to my own question, and I didn’t feel like asking someone only to get an answer I didn’t want to hear.

My stomach grumbled but I wasn’t hungry. I wanted to cry, but I was all out of tears. And that knot of thorns was still there, right in the center of my chest right where my scar was. I could clearly see the place where it hurt since I was still letting my uniform dry by the entrance. I probably looked out of place among all the soldiers walking about or eating. Even Fluttershy had put on UNSC armor with a pistol strapped to her leg.

Laying my head on the hard, black table, the metal spoon dangled in my beak. It was still warm from my last bite. Out of boredom, sadness, just not feeling hungry, or all three, I traced the circular rim of the bowl with my talon. My stomach rumbled for the umpteenth time, but I still didn’t feel like eating.

The plastic seat creaked next to me as Fluttershy leaned over. Her hoof touched my shoulder and she held it there. “You need to eat, Raven.” She was my nurse. But no amount of doctoring could fix the thorny pain in my chest.

I didn’t raise my head as I scooped another spoonful of the brownish liquid out the bowl. It tasted like the last one, and the one before that. Occasionally I would bite a piece of potato, but they tasted like cubes of salt.

Eating some more, I did feel a little better. Even if it tasted like pure salt, the stew warmed me from the inside out. Like hot cocoa on a cold winter day. The rain had been more than freezing cold. It always was by the end of August.

“What’s a virologist?” My voice was weak and tired, but just saying something made me feel better. I had never heard of a virologist before. Learning something new was always fun. And fun made me feel better.

Fluttershy gasped, like me talking was a surprise. “Oh, um…” her voice became really quiet, “It’s a doctor that studies the little viruses that make you sick with colds and the flu.”

Miss Fluttershy was an actual doctor? She didn’t seem like one. She never poked me with needles, or pressed cold things against my chest, or asked me questions about sniffles I had. It just seemed strange for someone so nice and non-doctory to be one. A virologist to be exact.

Vi-rah-lo-gist. Such a funny name for a doctor. It should have been easy to guess. Virus was in the name. I smiled a little, feeling good having learned something new.

Sitting up, I took another spoonful of stew. It tasted somewhat better since I didn’t feel so miserable. Maybe talking and learning some more would help? “What did that other doctor call you? A-mari-ya?” I sounded the strange word out. Breaking a word down helped me understand it better. Like virus being in virologist. A doctor pony who studies viruses.

“It’s my name, Fluttershy Mariposa Amarilla. It’s Spurish.”

Wow I didn't know that! Then again, I couldn’t have, and I told Miss Fluttershy why. “I don’t know any Spurish. I do know Equish and Gryphian.” I looked away from my bowl of stew to her. Was my smile staying? It felt like it was. “Do you know any Gryphian?”

Fluttershy shook her head, “No, but my friends Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie speak enough of it that they can travel all the way to Griffonstone.”

“Bleh,” I stuck my tongue out, remembering at the mention of the name how ruined and trashy the buildings there had been. “I was there once with my Grandpa. It looks like a total dump.”

Fluttershy chuckled, “Yeah, Rainbow told me all about it.”

<>~<>~<>

Fluttershy was always busy, busy, busy with the wounded. Which meant I had to wait outside the ship’s hospital sometimes. This time, however, I found a newspaper on the metal floor. I flipped it from the side with the funny cartoons to the front page. I had already read them twice, and I wanted to actually read the newspaper like Grandpa and my dad did every morning. It might have not been morning, but it was something else to read and get my mind off of everything.

It didn’t get my mind off everything. In fact, it caused even more confusion.

“Gryphonia threatens war?” I asked what the title seemed to scream in bold black letters. Reading just below the title, I tilted my head in even more confusion.

Gryphonia threatens war with Equestria over debates of receiving supposed “Weapons of cataclysmic destruction” from the Humans. Tensions still rage high between both governments after start of construction of planetary defense systems one month ago. Projects are expected to be delayed.This comes only a week after both governments finally settling an agreement to increase the Human fleet size over Equus. (Main article page 2)

I didn’t understand what was going on. War? I folded the newspaper up. It crumpled and tore a little, because newspapers never liked to fold back up right, before tucking it under my wing. I could read good -- a lot better than my Pony classmates -- but sometimes adults had to help me understand just what I was reading. Like what cataclysmic meant. It sounded really, really bad.

War with Equestria? That couldn’t have been right, but the newspaper was real and only a few days old. I glanced back at the little date in the corner to double check. It was only a day before the invasion. After how bad Summer had said the world gotten, wouldn’t everyone know fighting is just wrong and be nice?

Just thinking a little about Summer made that knot in my chest twist like someone grabbed it and yanked hard. Summer was my friend. So was Midnight, and so much more. They both were with me right from the start. Right after Mom was... killed.

I froze up. That Jackal wanted us and no one else. It kept after me and Mom, no matter how fast we ran. It could have used its gun the entire time, but no. It wanted to chase us. Wanted to play with us like a Gryphon with a mouse. Bat and claw us until we were dead.

Mom…

My stomach twisted and leapt in knots. Grabbing my stomach I fell over. The stew I had eaten trying to come back up.

So much blood. It ripped her apart! Bit and clawed her to pieces right in front of me. There was nothing I could do! If I had tried to fight it I would have died!

“Mom!” I shouted, thrusting my talons to grab her and pull her to safety.

Closing my eyes, the sight of her in the hall with me went away. The memory was still there, though, no matter what.

The sick feeling went away as I picked myself up off the floor. Tears, for once, weren’t running in rivers down my face. I had done enough of that already. I wasn’t sad anymore that Mom was gone. I wasn’t even scared. The Covenant murdered my mother. And Midnight. The tears were all cried out. All that was left in me was a feeling of angry fire, and something else.

Something deep within me rumbled and tumbled from down in my belly and rumbled inside my throat. Crouching, I looked down before snapping my gaze upwards, letting the feeling escape in a mighty noise.

ROAR!!!

“Holyshitwhatthefuck!?” A voice yelled as something clanged on the metal floor behind me. I turned to face a Human Marine, a box of metal parts by their boots. Looking up, her mouth was open all the way and her eyes wide.

I just scared a grown-up. Whoops.

<>~<>~<>

I knew it was wrong, but I did it anyway. I couldn’t ask Fluttershy about the newspaper because she was still so busy, so I decided to go outside the ship. I wasn’t scared to be by myself. The fact I kept reminding myself I was almost nine years old helped motivate me to stick to my plans and make the choice on my own.

Zipping up my uniform, I shivered a little at the dampness against my fur. It was still a little wet. Reaching into the pocket, my talons brushed against something. Uh-oh.

“Finally remember me? It was absolutely dreadful being alone in here.” I pulled Alice out the pocket, hugging her and begging for an apology. She was still sopping wet, her golden fur colored brown with dirty water.

“Gah! You’re choking me!” Alice yelled. I looked down as I had her face pressed against my chest. Whoops. Putting her back in my pocket, she asked, “Where are we going?”

“I just wanted to walk around,” I told her, “No real direction.”

The clouds overhead had broken to reveal beams of orange sunlight as I just walked in random directions around camp. The little beams reflected gently off the puddles and the thin layer of water on everything, making the broken city shine around the Requiem. I wanted to smile in all the brightness, but lying -- to others or myself -- just wasn’t me. Mom always told me to tell the truth.

Plus, no matter how pretty it looked, I still knew it was all broken up. Skyscrapers splintered like wood, glowed yellow in the sun as it crawled towards the edge of the sky. Orange and gold haloed the broken spires while the blood-red and violet sky mixed with black columns of smoke. Even after four days it seemed stuff still wanted to burn to a crisp.

A very sad thought worked its way into my brain. A simple question that sapped my energy. Was our apartment burnt down? The question was followed by even more. Was it lying in the street? What about Sissy’s? She had her own place to stay.

I couldn’t look away from those crawling-up clouds and stop imagining the photos of Mom burning. Lost forever.

No wonder Midnight wanted to leave so badly.

That fiery feeling came back, my heart thumping in my chest like a drum. She left me all alone, just like Osprey did. It wasn’t fair she got to move away and leave me with Mom and Dad. Just moved away after she turned eighteen. No thought about her little sister whatsoever!

Water tossed itself on that fire inside me. I stopped dead in my tracks.

Did Osprey even know that Mom had died?

Midnight couldn’t even help me find Osprey because she was gone. Looking down, the cracks in the pavement looked like a giant black sheet of glass that had been shattered. That's how my life felt. Broken, shattered into a bajillion pieces.

Thunk. Something tapped against my chest. I looked up.

A colt a few years older than me smiled as he tossed another rock in his hoof. He flipped it over and over again in his hoof like he was flipping a quarter-bit. My broken heart fell even further. Of all the times he could have pestered me, he chose that moment.

“Well, lookee here,” he turned around to speak to the dozen or so fillies and colts with him -- all ponies -- before a loud sound started filling the air and Humans started yelling. I wanted to investigate, but I didn’t dare take my eyes off him. “The freak is all  by herself.” He turned back to face me with a cold glare in his eyes and a smile. “Seems to me-”

My entire body was suddenly tossed. The air sucking itself out of my lungs, silencing my scream as my vision spun all crazy.

Opening my eyes to look at an upside-down view of a UNSC Marine, I couldn’t remember hitting the ground

Errrrrrrrrrrrrr…

That’s all I could hear. Clones and Marines fired their rifles soundlessly up into the sky as blue globs of flame hit a few, sending them falling onto the ground.

Coughing with no sound, just jerking muscles, I rolled off my back and onto my belly to look at where I was standing. The colt was gone. A few hooves away from where he stood, lay something that looked like it should’ve been a colt. The other fillies and colts in his group rolled on the ground. Some had blood spurting out where their legs used to be. Others just lied around, bleeding. One unicorn filly grabbed what was left of her horn. From how she jerked I could tell she was crying.

My heart raced in my chest as my eyes scanned the sky. Something blue and purple flew away before the darkening sky filled with a puff of blue flame. Whatever it was crashed down, rolled, and came to a stop.

Like water whooshing in reverse, my ears quickly cleared up. “-et to safety! You can’t stay here!” A Human yelled.

My brain caught up to what was happening. We were under attack again. Rising to my paws, I kept my eyes glued to the sky.

Giant, anvil-shaped ships floated down towards the city, all lit up like trees during Hearth's Warming Eve. Covenant ships flew alongside them, but they were shooting at them. Just who were these people!? The ships didn’t look like they belonged to the Humans!

The air ripped with a loud hum. Something heavy hit the ground, drawing my gaze towards a spaceship with glowing red eyes. My scream wasn’t heard over the battle as it walked towards me, its four legs opening and closing like scissor blades.

“RUN!” I heard someone yell. So I did.

<>~<>~<>

Another explosion boomed in the sky as the Covenant shot down another spaceship. Panting for air, I hid underneath a car since no-one would look there. My small size, thankfully, allowed me to go places adults couldn’t.

Having caught my breath, I slid out from my hiding place. The sky was filled with pretty lights as Covenant fought the new spaceships. The anvil-shaped ships and the smaller scissor-legged ones sent red bolts slamming into the Covenant’s teardrop-shaped ships as they flew down towards the ground.

Looking from the sky to the ground, I realized something.

The rubble-lined streets were super, super, dark. To ponies it would be downright unseeable where they were heading, but not for me. My eyes were able to see in low light, like a cat. Faint darkened outlines of cars and other vehicles lined the street among piles of rubble, with the occasional tipped-over street lamp flickering on and off. Like the flashing of a firing gun.

The near-silent wind carried the sound of the battle at the Requiem. It was so far off that it was like a whisper in my ears.

Just how far did I go? And how would I get back? A creeping feeling worked its way up from the back of my neck and crawled all the way down to the brush of my tail.

I was lost. Lost without an adult. And it was dark. Dark enough to not see any Jackals sneaking up on me, ready to rip me apart like they did Mom.

My heart thundered in my ears, further drowning out the faint sounds around me. I had to get back! Had to get off the street before the Covenant found me. I could handle another scar or two from getting shot if it meant Jackals wouldn’t catch me.

Panic fueled my running as I chose one of the directions sound came from and ran as fast as my legs would carry me. My loose armor banging against my chest as I tore down the street, weaving in between cars. Someone or something yelled behind me and I only ran faster and faster.

One block, two blocks, three blocks. The thought of being the best runner in the junior track team somehow popped up, but quickly left as stones and other bits started falling behind me. Glass shattered and metal groaned. The very street shook like an earthquake, but I didn’t slow. I stopped only when I tripped over the metal pole of a streetlamp, slamming onto my side and tumbling to a stop.

A few blocks behind me, stones crumbled and night gave way to brightness as a wave of heat washed over me. My eyes watered up as a gianourmous fireball shot into the sky. I could barely see the skyscraper that had just collapsed down the road. In the still falling rubble was one of the humongous anvil-shaped spaceships. Its four massive wings were either crushed or torn off from the crash. In all the chaos I was amazed at just how big it was. The wings had to be as wide as the Kingdom State Building is tall. Down the entire length of the ship, fire burned into the air, like a massively bright candle.

Rising to my paws, I limped towards the ship. I stopped to shield my eyes as ten or more Covenant teardrop-shaped ships flew over the wreck, firing green globs of exploding fire onto the remains.

The heat was immense, even from the distance, I could feel my feathers and fur warm up. Things were moving inside the flames and my beak dropped open in horror as I realized that whoever was inside was burning alive!

I couldn’t save them. There was no charging into that fire! Turning, my limp gave way to a run so I wouldn’t have to watch them burn. I was powerless to save them.

Even if I could charge through the flames, the thing exploded again and again as stuff inside it blew up.

<>~<>~<>

Tired, kaput, beat. There were many different ways to describe how I felt. On top of all the sluggishness, I couldn’t shake the prickly feeling that I was being watched. Or it could have just been chills from the rain drizzling onto me. It had started back again, not as heavy as it had been the first time, and too late to extinguish the fire that killed those people in the ship.

It was still fresh in my mind as I walked. Just so many were dead, and over what? What was everyone fighting over? Why was the Covenant so dead set on killing us? It just wasn’t fair! So many questions I couldn’t answer. And with no one but Alice with me, they most likely never would be.

Looking up to the sky, green and red and blue flashed in the clouds, creating a rainbow of lightning and boom of thunder too far off to worry about. Even the fighting on the ground was too distant to be concerned with. I just wanted to find someplace out of the rain and sleep. Get my mind off seeing those… by the great Phoenix Sol, those other kids. Sure they bullied me, but they didn’t deserve that!

I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, panting for air as I shivered. Thoughts ran through my brain: the images of the crying filly and dead colt bubbling to the top making the back of my throat go dry. My eyes filled with tears. It wasn’t fair! I slammed my talons in a fist onto the pavement. Why shoot at us when there were soldiers all around!? Sadness, anger, hate; that was all I felt towards the Covenant,

We were just a bunch of kids standing around! I gasped like someone had slapped me, then frowned. That anger and hate only grew as I realised the Covenant meant to shoot us. There were tons of soldiers, but we were the first to get shot at.

The knot tightened harder in my chest. It was painful enough that I grabbed the spot where the hole was torn into my armor. Just… I needed to get my mind off of the subject.

I kept a steady pace even as the rain picked up, unaware of where I was at until a light in the darkness caught my eye. Blinking to make sure it just wasn’t a trick, I laughed as the lights in a store shone brightly. Running forward, I stopped under an awning over the front door. There was a plastic sign in the window.

“Farm-ah-sea,” I sounded out the word advertised on the sign. “Pill’s Pharmacy and Family Medicine,” it read in red lettering over a white background. A little orange foal was smiling uncomfortably in the bottom right corner of the sign, looking away from the camera like she was shy. She had a band-aid on her foreleg.

I smiled back at her, understanding just how she felt. I didn’t like doctor visits either; too many needles. I cringed at the thought of getting poked for another booster shot or for influenza.

Shaking away the thought of needles pricking me, I looked through the glass door that had a metal frame. I was amazed the place still had electricity, unlike most other places that were too dark for me to dare enter. Jackals might be hiding in the dark, ready to attack me. The quills on the back of my neck stood up just at the thought.

Shivering from both fear and cold, I suddenly realised just how soaked I was from my head to my paws. The store looked like it would do nicely. At least it would be a place out of the rain for me to stay.

Reaching my talons forward, I seized the metal handle, opening the door just wide enough to make the bell over my head tinkle. Sliding between the narrow crack, I entered as silently as I could.

Inside, the white floors reflected the dim lights overhead, reminding me of the solid-white hallways of the Requiem. Just having something familiar around eased the tension I didn’t realise I had until it was gone. It even felt warm inside. The cold rain had chilled me again, so it felt good to be someplace toasty.

Shelves ran parallel to each other, facing from the front to the back of the store. From where I stood, I could see a cash register sitting on the floor at the far end of the first aisle. Wires connected the machine to a black countertop, where it should have been.

It quickly became clear to me that someone had broken in. The cash register on the floor was open, and empty boxes littered the floor. Only a few bottles of pills remained.

Little signs hung from the cork-tile ceiling over each aisle, They were numbered and had a word or two telling what was on each aisle. It started with cough syrup on aisle-one, and ended with mare hygiene on aisle-six.

I laughed, remembering my sister blushing in a store a lot like the one I was in. I had asked her about something mare hygiene and she told me “I’ll let Mom explain” as her feathers turned from white to cherry red. Osprey would always say that when I asked her questions that embarrassed her. Mom, of course, always said she’d explain when I was older.

My heart fell. And she can never tell me, and Sissy isn’t here, either.

Passing by a empty box of medicine, a thought went through my head. My sadness was replaced with worry, and I crouched down. Someone had broken in and stolen stuff. They might still be in the pharmacy with me.

Starting on aisle one, I slowly crept around to see if anyone was still there. I was planning on sleeping my tiredness away, but I couldn’t do that if someone was still there. I didn’t want to never wake up again. That would mean I was dead, which was something I wanted to avoid as much as possible.

The first aisle was clear, so was the second, third and fourth. I didn’t find anybody on the fifth aisle, but I did find the kid medicine. It had hardly been touched.

My mother used to take me to stores just like the one I occupied. It was no surprise that I came across a bottle that was familiar to me. Dyno-bites. Pulling the lone bottle off the shelf, I looked at it for a long time, thinking about what to do next. I had checked almost all the aisles, so I was safe with nothing else to do.

Well, I hadn’t taken my vitamins in a few days. Mom said I needed them.

I considered opening the bottle right then and there and taking one, but I stopped. Stealing is wrong, and I shouldn’t do it. But, then again, I really needed to stay strong and be the best I could.

A few seconds passed as I thought more and more. On one hand, I could not steal and not take my vitamins. But on the other hand, if I took one I could get the vitamins that I needed in me. It was no contest.

The purple lizard I took out the bottle tasted like grapes.

Screwing the cap back on, I put the bottle back where I had found it. It was wrong to steal, but whoever owned the store probably wouldn’t mind if I just took one.

I used to take a vitamin every day. One right after waking up. But it was bedtime since I was super duper tired. Yawning widely, I said to myself, “Yep, I can sleep here just fine.”

“Shouldn’t you be worried about all the explosions and gunfire outside?” Alice asked what I had just thought about with a grumble. They were quiet. Not loud enough to bother me. I was safe as long as they kept their distance.

“Too far away,” I said. Though, with my still wide yawn it sounded like, “Toof arway.”

Alice shut up after that. She could go hours without speaking. Probably grumbling to herself the entire time.

Walking down the rest of the kid aisle, I reached the end and stopped as something caught my eye. Tacked to the back wall of the store with shiny brass pins was a new poster. I could tell it was new because there wasn’t a speck of dirt on it. On it, a white and red triangle-shaped spaceship was floating down towards a crowd of cheering foals in a playground. “Humans aren’t scary.”

It just seemed odd. Why was that here? With no adult to ask, I had to try and figure it out myself.

The kid medicine and plastic toys behind me seemed relevant to the poster full of cheering foals. So, the poster was meant for kids?

Then it hit me. It was just like TV commercials.“It’s just a scam to get kids to buy toys”. Osprey said those exact words after I had asked her why commercials for toys only came up during cartoons. I was tired of looking at trucks when I watched normal TV.

Groaning at just remembering how annoying they were, I shook my head to clear out the thought, my eyes landing on a door. “Employees Only” Uh-oh. I still had more store to check. Someone could be hiding in the room behind the counter.

I scratched the floor to test my talons. Satisfied with the sharp sound, I grabbed the knob and opened the door. With my back legs crouched, I snuck into the room, ready to pounce and claw whoever was hiding from me. If there was anyone to begin with. I gave a nervous chuckle, telling myself I could be worrying myself up over nothing.

Sniffing deeply, I shivered as a metal-like smell entered my nose. Blood. The tangy iron scent caused shivers of fear to race through me, yet also excited me. I couldn’t really describe it, Gryphons just got that way when they smelled blood. We were birds of prey. Hunting was in our very nature.

At least... that’s what Grandpa said. He taught me a lot of things about Gryphons that Mom didn’t.

Looking around my surroundings, the lights were on in the back room, revealing more shelves to my left, and an unpainted cinder-block wall to my right. Whoever owned the store must have not been told by his or her mother enough times that you needed to save electricity. Looking around, the back room had the same white tiles as the front, and the same cork-tile roof. Not a drop of blood was to be found.

Sniffing the air again, I could definitely smell blood. And lots of it. A deep sense of dread washed over me as I considered that it was generally a bad idea to head towards something that could be dangerous.

I nearly turned around, seriously considering that I just walk away and leave. I could escape the possibly unsafe yet comfortable pharmacy without a scratch and just find somewhere else.

But no, curiosity drove me forward. Deeper into the backroom I went.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Alice said.

I didn’t respond, my body too busy shivering in fear as the expression rang around in my head, “Curiosity killed the cat.” My hunter’s blood or not, I was still scared at all the real blood I was smelling. It was almost overpowering, the iron smell in the air chasing the thrill of the hunt away. The door was a few hooves away behind me, I knew I could just turn around and run away.

Something in my brain wouldn’t let me go. A sense of coming shame and embarrassment if I turned around and ran away. I was done with running away like a baby. Plus, someone could be hurt and bleeding badly. I could actually save them instead of being powerless like at the crashed ship. If I left, they could possibly die.

Pressing onwards, the smell of blood grew even more powerful as I slowly went around the corner of a shelf inch-by-inch. My muscles tensed, ready to run at a moment’s notice if whatever was bleeding leapt out at me. “I’m a big brave lioness. I’m a big brave lioness. Hear me roar,” I kept whispering to myself.

I rounded the corner completely.

Over in the far corner, hidden from view of the front door by yet another shelf, was a stallion. He was in a green doctor shirt and was slumped in a chair with his back to me. I quickly realized his left hoof was on the wooden desk he sat in front of, while his right reached towards the floor.

And a gun.

“Sir,” I called out weakly, “Are you okay?” I took a cautious step forward. Be careful Raven, he may be hurt, but as Grandpa says, “A wounded animal is the most vicious.”

I kept a close eye on the stallion, moving slowly towards him. I wanted to help, not end up hurting him.

He was at a desk, that was a fact, nothing wrong with that. Sitting in a chair with his head on the desk; that was also normal, he could be sleeping. But that didn’t explain the blood. The fur on his rump was brown, and his head tilted so I couldn’t see his mane. That was fine because his tail was a darker brown than his coat, which should be the color of his mane. I moved a little to his left to see his cutie mark. It was a bottle of pills.

Sniffing, I looked up. Red mush painted the ceiling above him. It looked squishy. Ew.

Getting even closer, I was close enough to touch the stallion. Giving his left shoulder a little push to try and shake him awake, I jumped out the way as his body fell towards me, limp.

He had a hole in his head.

HE HAD A HOLE IN HIS HEAD!

Backpedaling until I hit a shelf and fell down, my scream ripped my throat to shreds. In the moment of total fear, one thing was for certain. The stallion had shot himself in the head.

I stopped screaming as soon as I tripped. The body falling was what scared me more than the wound. How could I have missed that? Parts of the stallion’s skull were pushed outwards while bits of brain were caught in his mane. Just… how? Why? I asked myself those question just to keep myself from focusing on the details. I felt sick looking at the gross horror.

Ring-ting-ting.

I froze as the bell over the door rang so clear though the store. It echoed in the silence following my scream.

“Hello!?” Someone called out. A female. From her voice she wasn’t mean sounding, but words were just that. Words. Actions spoke louder, and after what had happened with Coner and his gang the first day of the invasion, I wasn’t going to trust a stranger.

Crouching low, hooves clopped around the store as the pony ran in what sounded like circles, asking if someone was here. Staying quiet, I snuck for the only thing in the room I could use to protect myself.

The stallion’s gun.

“Hello!?” She called out again, “I heard you scream. Are you in danger?” Her voice was calm and quiet, despite her yelling. Almost like how Miss Fluttershy spoke, but with a slightly deeper voice. Mean people could have nice voices. Right? I thought of taking a peek over the counter. Just to check and see if she was an okay pony.

Despite the nagging feeling to do so and introduce myself to the friendly voice, I crawled closer to the gun, tip-clawing my way around the stallion. By some miracle I avoided looking at the massive hole in the top of his head. The gun was right in front of me.

It was small, black and rectangular, with a short barrel. The grip stuck out the side to fit into a pony’s mouth or be held in a hoof, with a large trigger. From how the trigger was shaped it looked like ponies had to pull it with their tongue or flick it with their magic hoof grip.

Reaching for the gun, I kept my ears trained on the pony. She had slowed down and was actually looking for me. I picked up the pistol by the grip with my talons, sneaking to aim around the corner of the shelves. I knew enough about guns to know which was the end that went bang, and which end you were supposed to hold. Even if I missed, I hoped it would be enough to scare whoever it was off. I wasn’t going to let some random stranger past the door, no matter how sugary and sweet her voice was.

I heard her sigh heavily, then take a deep breath. From the distance it sounded like she was right outside the door, almost ten hooves away. “Raven, help is what I offer you. Please, come out, that’s all I want to do.”

Several facts began to run through my head. One: she knew me. And two…  there was no number two. I had never heard her voice before, and I hadn’t seen her yet, so I had no idea if she was from the Requiem or not. And did she rhyme?

The door swung open with a creaking whine, and I steadied my shaking pistol.

Just aim like the adults do, that’s all there is to it. In the back of my mind I was worried. Terrified, really. The fact I was pointing a gun at an adult wormed its way to the front of my mind as she looked around. Even though I had only been taught how to use a rifle, I saw pistols used lots of times on TV. It just seemed too easy to aim at her.

She must have been blind not to see me pointing the gun at her, ten hooves away at the corner of the shelves.

She looked right at me, her horn glowing with a dark green light that twinkled on the doorknob, as well as reflected off her dark green eyes. Her coat was the same color of her eyes, almost the same dark green of pine needles, and her mane was dark-dark blue.

“H-hello…” She said, “Raven, I see you.” She looked scareder that me. Her eyes wide as she stared at the pistol in my talons.

I wanted to sound tough and hide just how scared I was. So, I did something I would have never done before, “Make one wrong move and I’ll blow your fucking head off, missy.”

I cussed on purpose. I never did that because saying bad words was wrong.

The pony gasped, her face turning pale. A mouse could have outspoken her as she raised her hooves like it would protect her, “Raven, p-please, put the gun down.”

She was scared of me. I could have told her to do anything and I bet she would have done it. I felt powerful, like I was in charge. But… I felt terrible. I was making her scared of me and it made me feel wrong.

The look in her eyes was sad, scared, and alone. Like me. Darnit, I was going to regret this later wasn’t I? I lowered the gun a little, ready to aim at a moment’s notice as I asked, “Who are you?”

She gave a small bow, trembling as she stuttered, “F-forest Melody,” she then added as if it were an afterthought, “I’m from the Requiem.”

Good enough answer. I lowered the pistol some more, showing her that the answers I liked got less and less gun pointed at her. “How did you find me, and how do you know my name?” I blew air up towards the top of my head. If I were a pony, it would have blown my mane out of my eye. I just did it to look cool as I leaned against a shelf.

The bottom shelf gave way and I fell, my gun slid across the floor towards Forest. She yelped like a dog, jumping over the gun as she ran for me.

“Oh my goodness are you okay!?” She asked. Before I could respond, she was feeling all over me with her hooves. Meanwhile, I was dumbstruck. She went from my hostage to my nanny in the span of likity-split.

“I’m okay, I’m okay,” I said, groaning as I pushed her away. My pride was bruised more than my body. Pride was something Gryphons hated getting bruised, and I could just tell I was blushing from how hot my face was.

“I’m so sorry, Raven, I meant no offense.”

Her voice was deep, yet gentle. And like a song it carried a constant rhythm that I was almost bobbing my head to. And she said she was sorry. She couldn’t be that bad if she was asking me to forgive her.

Looking to Forest, her mouth was open and her face was pale. “H-he’s...” she trailed off, pointed a hoof straight out in shock. Right towards the body I had forgotten was there in all the excitement.

Keeping my voice low, I asked, “Can we talk somewhere else?”

Forest nodded and turned around, motioning with her hoof for me to lead. Passing her as I headed for the door, I picked up the gun and walked through the open door.

<>~<>~<>

Forest sat down on her haunches since there was nothing to sit on at the front of the pharmacy. Tapping her hooves together, she asked “So, Raven Volkov, right?” All we did was go into the front of the store. It was too rainy outside to walk in the streets.

I nodded, “Yes it is.” I sat down on my haunches, putting the pistol on the floor next to me. I didn’t let it leave the corner of my vision as I asked, “How do you know that’s my name?”

“I was at the Requiem when you and Midnight arrived. She made quite the name for herself during the attack. Ponies knew that you were her little kid, so your name was passed around a lot, too.”

So, I was famous because of Midnight? It made sense. I guess. It certainly seemed like Forest was telling the truth, and not lying to me like adults do all the time because they think I’m some dumb little kid they could trick.

Keeping my eyes on Forest, I finally realized she was wearing saddlebags. They hid her cutie mark, but the buckles on the bags was a microphone between two music notes. Going off a guess, I asked, “You’re a singer?”

Forest nodded, shifting around to get more comfortable, “I sing in a band, that is true. Tell me Raven, what do you like to do?”

I blinked. What was with the rhyming? Curious, I stared at Forest, thinking of how to politely ask why she rhymed before I blurted out, “Wait, since when could Unicorns have stripes!?” The loudness of my voice made Forest flinch. They were so close to being the same shade of dark green as the rest of her coat that I had missed them until I took a closer look.

She chuckled, saying what seemed like mostly a joke to herself, “If I had a quarter-bit for every time I’ve been asked that, I’d have… one quarter actually.” She hummed, shrugged, then looked at me to continue our conversation. “I’m one quarter Zebra. My Father was a Zony, and my mother a Pony.” I blinked at her a few times, mouthing ‘Zony’. She seemed to get the point and smiled, “Ah, Zonies are half Pony, half Zebra. My grandmother was a pony, and my grandfather a Zebra.” That cleared up my confusion.

Forest chuckled again, “You know, you remind me of how confused Golden Harmony was when I first met her.”

“I don’t know her-” I said, not knowing if it was a compliment or an insult. Thinking a little bit, I looked towards the gun, suddenly feeling on edge, “-and I don’t know you much either.” Slowly I leaned over, just slow enough she wouldn’t think I was reaching for the gun. She said she was from the Requiem, that’s all I knew besides her name. “Why were you following me?” And why did she make her appearance after I found the body to make her appearance?

Forest got off her haunches and backed away, “Please don’t point the gun at me again.” Darn, I wasn’t as stealthy as I thought I was. Looking towards Forest, her body was trembling, “I couldn’t let a kid like you be alone, but I was too scared to show myself until I heard you were in trouble. I tried calling out to you one time, but you ran off.”

I stopped reaching for the gun, my talons only an inch or two away. I remembered someone or something in the dark yell as I ran. Then the ship crashed. If she hadn’t scared me to running super fast, we would have been crushed.

I shook my head, “We’re lucky to be alive.”

Forest nodded in agreement, “I saw what happened. Those ponies teasing you before-”

“Before that covenant spaceship tried to blow us up,” I seethed, cutting Forest off. Words couldn’t express my anger towards the Covenant. Trying to dwell away from them, I sighed and picked up the gun by the barrel. Offering the gun to Forest, I waived the handle towards her, “Here, take it. I’m sorry for pointing it at you. You seem nice enough.” I wanted to trust her, and show her she could trust me.

“I can’t take that, you keep it!” Forest yelled in surprise, backing away.

I blinked in confusion. Confused as to why an adult would let me, a kid, keep a gun. “What’s wrong?” I asked, “You afraid of it or something?” I was honestly curious.

“Yes!” Forest yelled. Calming down she slipped into rhyme as she waved her hooves, “Guns terrify me so. My fear of them isn't for show.”

Okay, the weirdest adult ever award goes to...

Putting the gun back on the floor, I slid it behind me out of Forest’s sight. I could see her muscles relax as she sighed, shaking her head and rubbing the bridge of her muzzle.

“So, Forest,” I said, looking out the front door at the still pouring rain. It was heavy enough I could hear it pounding on the street through the walls, “I’m tired. How about you?”

Forest chuckled, “Yeah, I’m tired as well.” Her smile went away, “But we can’t stay here with the,” she paused like she was trying to find the right word, “stallion in the other room.”

Oh. That...