Time Marches On by DwarvishPony

Time Marches On

by DwarvishPony

~The Last Day~

“I’m just saying, Lyra,” Bon Bon followed her best friend into the living room, “That its a good idea to be prepared. Stable-Tec says th-”

“Exactly! Stable-Tec says.” The aqua mare interrupted Bon Bon. “You do know they make money for everypony who signs up for a Stable, right?” Lyra’s tone was condescending, as if the idea were beneath consideration.

“I know that. I’m just saying that maybe we should consider it. Its a ‘what if’ that scares me. What if the Zebras did something crazy?”

“You think the Zebras could get anywhere near Canterlot? You’ve been listening to Pinkie Pie too much.”

“I worry about things, yeah. I can’t help it when you’re involved.” Bon Bon sighed and wiped the moisture from her eyes.

“I know. I’m lucky to have a friend like you.” Lyra stepped close and nuzzled her friend’s cheek. “I’ll think about it. I’ve gotta go. I have a meeting up in the Ministry Walk today. I’ll be back in time for dinner, ‘kay?”

“Okay. Don’t keep me waiting too long though. I’m making that pasta recipe I got from Fluttershy.” Bon Bon wiped the last evidence of tears from her eyes and hugged Lyra tightly. “Be careful, okay?”

“Pshh. You know me. I’m the carefullest mare you’ve ever met.” Lyra smirked and stepped out of the small Canterlot apartment the two mares shared. Bon Bon stood in the doorway and waved until Lyra descended the stairs and disappeared from sight.

“Be careful, Lyra… I have a bad feeling…” The cream mare stared longingly at the spot Lyra had last been at for a fraction of a moment longer before turning away and going back inside.

***

About twenty minutes later, Bon Bon was making herself some chamomile tea to calm her nerves. She needed something to take the edge off her fraying nerves. A splash of brandy in her tea did the trick.

Settling into her favorite seat in the living room, Bon Bon stared out the window that overlooked the small market across the street. It was one of her escapes, watching everypony go about their business. A small part of her wished she could be like that; unafraid of a threat that would probably never happen.

She found herself quickly slipping into a more relaxed state, no thanks in part to the alcohol in her tea. The mare closed her eyes and let out a small sigh of contentment as she unwound. ‘Maybe Lyra’s right. Maybe I am worrying too much.’ The wail of sirens echoing out over the city disagreed with Bon Bon.

Bon Bon jumped to her hooves with a start, knocking her tea to the floor as she stared in horror out the window. Somepony had erected a large magical barrier over the whole of Canterlot, and explosions could be seen rocking the outside of it. Without a moment’s hesitation, Bon Bon dashed from the apartment and bolted up the street.

‘I have to get to the Ministry Walk. Lyra will know what to do.’ Terror gripped the mare as she fought against a screaming crowd of ponies desperate to get to wherever they were headed. The city guard was trying to shout over the cries of terror in the street, attempting to organize some kind of evacuation. Bon Bon found herself pushing as hard as she could to get past the throng of terrified ponies.

And then she was through. With most of the crowd behind her, Bon Bon was able to take off at a full gallop. Her hoofsteps echoed off the buildings, lending an eerie feel to the suddenly emptied streets. Rounding a corner, Bon Bon finally saw what had caused the crowd of ponies flee in terror.

A rolling cloud of pink meandered down from the Royal Castle, engulfing anything and everything in it’s path. After a moment’s hesitation, Bon Bon charged forward, intent on reaching Lyra.

It burned! The moment the cream mare made contact with the Cloud, every nerve in her body screamed in pain. It was as if she had been dipped in acid. Not one spot of the mare was safe. Her skin, eyes, and even hooves all screamed in pain, threatening to overwhelm her senses.

Bon Bon pushed forward, unable to see more than a few feet in any direction. She was moving forward based on her knowledge of the area rather than sight though. Her lungs burned for clean air. When she took a deep breath, Bon Bon found herself slowed by a violent coughing fit. When she pulled her hoof from her mouth, she found it covered in crimson stains. ‘Have to… keep going.’

Everything ached. Every hoofstep became a labor in-itself. Bloodied hoofprints trailed behind Bon Bon as she struggled forward. Her hooves felt like glue, sticking to the cobblestone pathways and pulling free with faint pops.

She was here. Bon Bon couldn’t say how, but she knew that Lyra was here. Skin had begun peeling free in large globs as Bon Bon moved forward. She knew there was no way out of this, but she didn’t care. She just needed to find Lyra and everything would be okay. Just needed to see Lyra one last time.

And find her she did. Mere feet away, an aqua lump sat in in peculiar manner on a bench. It looked like she hadn’t had a chance to move before the cloud had taken her. Bon Bon’s body went slack as she collapsed forward.

“Lyra…” She wanted to cry, but her melted skin made the act impossible. “I’m sorry. I should have made you stay. With me.” Words were becoming difficult as Bon Bon’s jaw stopped moving the way it was supposed to. ‘I’ll find you again. Someday, in some lifetime. I’ll find you.”

Nothingness engulfed the mare as she willed her final thoughts to her dead friend.

~Twenty Years After the Last Day~

“I found you.” An emaciated brown stallion stood near the pale orange pegasus that he was addressing. She had taken refuge in a Pony Joe’s shop, Barricading as much of the building as she could with chairs and tables, leaving only the kitchen entrance unblocked. “How are you feeling, Breeze?”

“I’m okay.” The pegasus lied. “It doesn’t hurt as much today.” She winced in pain as she shifted her weight in an attempt to lessen the pain in her leg, which had clearly suffered a serious injury sometime recently. She looked no better than the stallion, with her ribcage clearly visible against the stretched skin of her torso. “Did you find anything, Shutter?”

“Yeah, I found a little bit of food and water.” Shutter left out the part about how he had found it hidden near the corpse of somepony strung up by raiders. Breeze had enough to worry about without adding nearby psycho ponies to the list. Shutter split the meager rations up marginally evenly, allocating just a bit more of the food and water to the injured mare. “You should eat. Its been days.”

“I could say the same to you. When’s the last time you ate?”

“I snuck a bit of food before getting back.” Shutter lied. “I needed it just to make it back here.

Breeze nibbled in silence. The pair had met back in Ponyville, and had stuck together ever since being run out by a particularly vicious group of raiders. It was Ponyville that Breeze had broken her leg in three different places. Since then the only way she was able to move was shorter and shorter flights from building to building in an attempt to stay safe. Shutter had taken the burden of scavenging upon himself in that time. Breaking off from Breeze when it was necessary to replenish the meager supplies they had. Part of Breeze wondered if eventually Shutter would just not come back one of these times, realizing that she was more of a burden than she was worth. Shutter proved to be loyal, always returning to Breeze with soft words and supplies to keep her going.

“Is there something on my face?” Shutter interrupted the thoughts of the injured pegasus and making her realize that she had been staring at him. A faint touch of heat crept into the mare’s face.

“I was just thinking.” the pale orange mare looked away for a fraction of a second.

“About what?” Shutter tilted his head questioningly.

“How long have we been traveling together?” Breeze took a sip of water as she waited for a response.

“A few weeks?” I don’t really keep track of time since the bombs dropped.” An involuntary shudder passed through the stallion as he reminded the nightmare of his childhood. He quickly suppressed the memories that seemed to always try to engulf him when he thought back to before the war.

Breeze simply nodded and discarded the empty wrappers of her meal and stored the barely touched water in a nearby saddlebag. She scooted close to the stallion and snuggled up to him.

“I’m glad we met. You’re a good friend.” Breeze felt Shutter tense up for a fraction of a second before he nuzzled her mane gently.

“I’m glad we met, too.” Shutter let out a soft sigh. “We should get some sleep. You’ve got a long way out to Manehattan.”

“Mhmm.” The pegasus relaxed against her friend and closed her eyes. “Shutter?”

“Yeah?”

“I think I love you.” A faint smile touched the mare’s lips as she spoke the words.

Shutter paused for a slight moment, as if the words were caught in his throat. “I think I love you too, Breeze.” He leaned gently against the mare. The two were asleep in minutes.

***

Breeze awoke just after dawn. Or what passed as dawn since the Pegasi closed up the sky after the bombs dropped. The familiar green-gray of the sky greeted the mare as she tentatively stood.

“Sun’s up, Shutter. We should pack up.” Breeze nudged the stallion gently. He didn’t stir. The mare let out a small giggle at how deeply he could sleep. ‘He’s pretty cute when he sleeps.’ She nudged him again, with a little more force. “Wake up Shutter. We need to get moving.”

The pegasus’ brow furrowed as the Stallion didn’t move. Looking down at him, Breeze was struck by just how still Shutter was. She nudged him with a bit more force as worry started to set in.

“Wake up, Shutter. You’re starting to worry me.” She was shaking him now. Still no response. Her hoof came away from her friend sticky. She looked at the mysterious stickiness on her hoof, horrified by the reddish color staining her hoof.

“No…” Breeze leaned in close, parting the fur around where she had been touching until she found what she was afraid of. A deep cut, only about an inch wide, located between two of Shutter’s ribs. Parting the cut, Breeze could just make out a piece of metal embedded inside the stallion.

“You were hurt. Why didn’t you tell me?” The distraught mare spoke down to her friend as if he would somehow spring to life and answer. “I still have a healing potion. Why?” Tears flowed freely as the mare began shouting. “You shouldn’t have been so selfish and left me alone!” She wrapped her friend in a deep embrace as sobs wracked her frail body.

Breeze stayed like this for some hours before the tears would no longer come. She finally pushed herself away and took a deep breath. Nothing could be done about her fallen friend. She quickly packed up her things, adding Shutter’s meager supplies to her own. She made sure to grab the food he had left untouched for her last night. With a gentle kiss to Shutter’s brow for a last goodbye, Breeze adjusted her saddlebags and left. Manehattan was waiting and by the Goddesses, she would make it. For Shutter.

~Roughly One Century After the Last Day~

The explosion of a grenade shook plaster down from the ceiling. Gouge found himself pinned along with the rest of his company of mercenaries, the Crimson Talons. A seemingly endless hoard of raider ponies kept trying to make their way into the building that the mercs had barricaded themselves into in a desperate last stand.

“Same shit, different day, right Boss?” Crash Course yanked the pin from a grenade of his own and tossed it out a broken window. A few seconds later he was rewarded with his own explosion, this one accompanied by the screams of raiders. “Music to my fuckin’ ears!” The yellow earth pony grinned and readied another grenade.

“Keep a few of those for their big pushes, Crash!” Melody called to the stallion over the din of battle. “Ammo conservation is your friend.” The unicorn mare demonstrated her meaning with short, controlled bursts from her submachine gun.

“Yeah, yeah. You really know how to spoil the fun, Melody.” Crash’s statement caused melody to roll her eyes at the stallion.

“You two have the subtlety of a wounded duck. Tell us, when will you finally buck?” A fourth member of the group, Xenos, called. The zebra coolly lined up a shot with his rifle as another raider entered view. Xenos bit down on the trigger of said rifle, adding an extra hole to the raider’s skull.

“Ha! You know she’s holding out for the Boss.” Burnt Oak, the final member of the group chimed in from the back of the building.. The ex-raider was busy booby trapping the back exit, in case of a raider getting smart enough to flank his friends. A simple spike trap would be enough to deter most, but Burnt decided that a bit of razor wire would be a good addition.

“Can it, Burnt! We’ve all heard you alone at night!” Melody retorted, a slight blush in her cheeks. Her response brought laughter from the rest of the crew.

“Focus on the fight!” Gouge called out, silencing the crew with his trademark no-nonsense tone. Ever the pragmatic one, the gray griffon had earned the respect of his companions over years of guiding the group through nearly any life-or-death situation imaginable. He clutched his Zebra Rifle tightly in his talons, frustration gnawing at his gut. Raiders would usually disperse after enough of the damned things died. Why were they so insistent this time?

A more powerful explosion rocked the building, tearing the front of the building open and showering debris over the mercenaries. Further down the street, a raider could be seen with a missile launcher strapped to the side of his battle saddle. Gouge didn’t like this one bit. Though they had some cover, the destroyed wall made the group a lot more exposed.

“Xenos, take care of him!” Gouge called to his marksman.

“With pleasure. I shall dispatch him quickly for good measure.” Xenos replied. He lined up a shot with a degree of accuracy that always seemed near magical. Xenos waited until the raider popped a new missile into place before putting another rifle round down the barrel with explosive results.

“Nice shootin’ Xenos. Wish you coulda let me keep that launcher though.” Crash grinned. He had switched from lobbing grenades to mines, pressing a button on top of the explosives before tossing them like frisbees to cover the new entrance to the building. Each time a new raider stepped into the area, they were blown apart, only to have a new mine take the place of the last.

After a few more minutes of this, combined with the constant lethal fire of the rest of the group, the torrent of raiders had become nothing more than a trickle. Finally, they stopped coming in at all. Gouge spotted many of the raiders starting to turn tail and flee.

“Told ya, boss. Same shit, different day. I knew we’d make it through again.” Crash Course grinned. “How many caps ya think we can loot off o’ these guys? I’m guessing at least three-hundred.”

The rest of the group began to visibly relax, smiling and exchanging quips as they set upon the bodies to gain whatever useful things they could scavenge. Gouge simply surveyed the street outside, making sure that no raiders lay in ambush.

“What do you think made that many run? Most of the time raiders will fight to the last.” Melody stepped up next to her leader, an inquisitive expression on her face.

“I don’t know. Maybe we should just count our blessings and move on before we meet something worse.” Gouge replied, finally satisfied that no raiders seemed intent on continuing the fight.

“Fuck fuck fuck fuck!” Gunfire punctuated the stillness along with Burnt Oak’s foul mouth. The rest of the group turned in time to see Burnt flee from the back of the building and towards the street. A split second later, a behemoth of a creature tore its way through the back wall and fell upon Burnt before anyone could react, picking up the merc and ripping him in two.

It stood on its hind legs, blood dripping from the large claws tipping the thing’s arms. Through the dirt and concrete dust coating it’s fur, Gouge could make out the brown of its fur. The thing stood still, only turning its head to scan the four surviving members of the Crimson Talons. The rest of the mercenaries slowly backed towards Gouge.

“Boss? I take it back. This isn’t same shit, different day.” Crash couldn’t keep the fear from creeping into his voice. “We’re not equipped to take on a Hellhound.”

“I know, Crash.” Gouge weighed his options carefully, trying to find a way out of the situation before he lost another friend. The Hellhound made the decision easy as it let out a deafening howl to the gray sky above and crouched low to pounce. “Scatter!”

The mercenaries bolted in different directions, opening fire on the beast. Crash pulled a grenade launcher from his saddlebag, loading a shot and quickly firing, scoring a hit against the Hellhound’s face. Xenos began backpedaling on his hind legs, balancing his rifle carefully in his forelegs and unleashing a volley of shots at the knees of this new opponent. Gouge and Melody split off in two different directions, strafing to the sides of the Hellhound and providing suppressive fire for the comrades with the heavier firepower.

The Hellhound shrugged all of this off, propelling itself forward with its powerful muscles. It closed the gap between itself and Xenos in a split second, swiping at the zebra with powerful claws. Xenos’ natural agility proved to be the only thing that kept him alive as he dodged and weaved around the attacks, dancing a hair’s width around death.

The rest of the mercenaries shouted and unleashed a volley of lead at the creature, trying to pull its attention from the zebra. Nothing seemed to slow the creature’s advance. A sheen of sweat began forming on the zebra’s brow as he whirled about in a desperate bid to survive.

The Hellhound switched it’s swipes at the Zebra without warning, digging a claw into the concrete street and ripping it upward. Chunks of the street blocked the view of the Zebra for a fraction of a second too long. The Hellhound thrust a clawed paw forward, catching the Xenos in the gut and lifting him high into the air, bringing him level with the Hellhound’s gaze.

Xenos silently said a prayer to his ancestors before thrusting a powerful hoof forward into the eye of his enemy. His action was rewarded with a wet pop as viscera began oozing from the eye socket of the Hellhound. The Hellhound responded with a howl of pain and a swing of his arm, shaking the impaled zebra from his claws and sending him through the air until a wall stopped his flight with a wet thud. Xenos fell to the ground and moved no more.

“You fucker!” Crash shouted at the top of his lungs and began frantically showering the seemingly unstoppable beast with explosives. The Hellhound turned to the loud thing, its good eye filled with murderous intent.

“Yeah, bring it you stupid fuck!” Crash pressed the attack with a renewed vigor. He kept switching from grenades to his launcher to mines, refusing to give the Hellhound an opportunity to advance. It flinched back from the ever-changing barrage of explosives. And then the Hellhound was gone, the only evidence that it had been in the spot previously was a hole leading into a subterranean darkness.

“Did it run?” Crash tentatively stepped forward and peered through the hole.

“Keep an eye out. The damn thing could still be nearby.” Gouge responded tersely.

“Yeah. I hear ya. I’ll keep an eye ou-” Crash couldn’t finish the sentence as the Hellhound returned from the earth underneath him with the speed of a runaway carriage. Fangs sank deep into the earth pony’s neck.

Crash gurgled as his lifeblood seeped out, reaching a hoof into his saddlebag. A near-inaudible click triggered the telltale beeping of a mine. Crash gave one last smirk to Gouge before being torn apart by a large explosion that forced the Hellhound from its feet.

A pang of guilt tore through Gouge. The third of the day. He stared bitterly at where the Hellhound laid. Three of his friends had fallen taking down the beast. He spat on the ground, the taste of bile in the back of his throat.

“Shit…” Melody stepped up to the Hellhound’s body and nudged it with a hoof. Tears had begun to spill down her face. She’d traveled with the Crimson Talon for nearly five years. In that time, she’d seen ponies die, but never once had the casualties been the friends she fought beside.

Gouge stood some feet away, surveying the carnage. He would give his friends proper burials. It was the least he could do for them. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the nigh-imperceptible signs of movement. The Hellhound was still breathing, a detail only someone with eyes of a hunter could spot.

“Melody, get back!”

Too late. With a burst of speed that would have been impossible for any other creature, the Hellhound lashed out at the nearby pony. Her leg sailed away with a crimson arc trailing behind it as the mare fell to her side, her only forehoof attempting to stem the bleeding as her high-pitched scream filled the air.

Gouge took flight, charging straight at the Hellhound as it stood. The pair tumbled away from Melody. Gouge let out the cry of a warrior cornered. He knew he couldn’t match the Hellhound in power, but he had flight. As he slid, his talons raked against the concrete of the street, giving him enough purchase to straighten and take flight.

From there his tactics became hit and run. Unsheathing the axe he wore strapped to his back, he alternated between diving in and slashing and letting loose volleys from his Zebra Rifle. This continued for a few minutes, with the Hellhound swiping viciously each time Gouge came close.

The rhythm of Gouge’s attacks was broken by the Hellhound lashing out higher than expected, its claws slicing cleanly through the griffon’s wing and sending him spiraling away. The Hellhound advanced slowly, like a predator that knew it had already won. Gouge struggled to stand, acutely aware of how exposed he was. Unfortunately, his body was unwilling to cooperate. The Hellhound loomed above him. Its rancid breath assaulted Gouge as the Hellhound lowered its gaping maw to claim victory.

“Hey fucker.” A weak feminine voice forced the Hellhound to snap its head upwards, mere inches from Gouge’s prone body. The Hellhound had inadvertently lined its damaged eye with a submachine gun magically floating in the air. It focused its good eye on the three-legged mare with a scowl who lay a short distance away. “Go to Hell.”

Melody thrust the weapon forward, embedding the gun in the damaged eye of the Hellhound and opening fire. She drained the entire clip into the beast’s brain, not letting up until the weapon began making a clicking sound, even though the creature stopped moving. Melody let the gun slip from her grip, leaving it embedded in the Hellhound.

“Gouge…” Melody forced herself forward along the ground. It was an agonizingly slow crawl. She came to a stop a few feet from the griffon she called ‘Boss’, reaching out her front hoof to the leader she could never confess her feelings to. A talon gently reached out and clasped the hoof.

The griffon simply smiled warmly. “I know, Melody.”

~The Day of Sunshine and Rainbows~

‘The sun. By the Goddesses, I never thought I’d see the sun.’ Winter Lily stared at the sky, awestruck. Sunlight warmed the apricot colored mare through the gaps in the branches of a long-dead willow tree. It was an unfamiliar kind of warmth. Different from the campfires she was used to. This was a warmth that seemed to fill her up, like embracing an old friend who had been away for far too long.

Lily let her weapon fall from her mouth and stepped forward from the shade. Hours of fighting the had culminated in this miraculous removal of the clouds that had covered the skies her entire life. She recalled the words her grandmother had told her when she was a filly.

“Someday, the world’s gonna change. Might not be in my life, or even yours. But mark my words Winter Lily. When that time comes, you best make sure you been doing the right thing.”

The mare brushed back a stray lock of white mane, allowing sunlight to fully bathe her face as she stood atop a hill. Below her many of the combatants had dropped their own weapons, their faces turned skyward as well.

”First time?” A deep voice asked from behind her, pulling her from the hypnotic beauty above.

Lily turned to see a maroon pegasus approach. He was clad in a uniform like the rest of the Enclave soldiers she had seen today. Her eyes darted to the weapon she had foolishly dropped.

“I’m not gonna hurt you. I’m done all this fighting.” Lily doubted the stallion’s words. He looked upwards. “I never thought about how ponies down here have never seen it.” His words seemed introspective, like he was a touch sad about something.

“Yeah… I never thought I’d see it to be honest.” Lily replied after a brief silence. “Part of me thinks I’m just dreaming.” Whoever this stallion was, he didn’t seem like a threat. In fact, Lily didn’t see any sort of weapons on him.

“Maybe you are.” the mare’s attention was pulled away by the stallion’s odd statement. “Maybe this whole thing is a dream and someone will wake up and everything else here will disappear.”

Lily furrowed her brow. “You’re weird.”

“Maybe.” The Stranger chuckled. “It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been told that.” He stepped forward and sat down next to Lily. “Maybe I’m the one who’s just waking up now.”

“What do you mean?”

“Today’s the first time I’ve taken a look at the bigger picture. Before now I’ve followed orders and just taken everything up above for granted. You know what,” The Stranger began pulling at his uniform. “I don’t think I’ll need this anymore.” He dropped the clothing in a heap next to him before turning and smiling at Winter Lily. “My name’s Wildfire.”

“Winter Lily.” The mare replied, somewhat dumbfounded by the peculiar stallion. She sat in silence for a few moments before looking back at the sky. “What are you going to do if you leave the Enclave?”

“I dunno.” The stallion stated matter-of-factly. “I guess that’s part of the fun though. Like an adventure.” He grinned goofily. “You should go too.”

“I- Go where?” Lily sank deeper into her confusion, feeling like she was only hearing part of Wildfire’s half of the conversation.

“I dunno. You just look like you need some kind of adventure.”

The apricot mare giggled and shook her head. “After today, I don’t need adventure. All I want is a nice cup of tea. Maybe with some brandy in it.”

Wildfire smiled and flopped onto his back. “That does sound kind of good. Can I have some too?”

“I-” Lily honestly had no idea how to respond the the peculiar pegasus. “Sure?” She couldn’t explain it, but for some reason Lily didn’t not want this stranger’s company. Wildfire just smiled his goofy smile, like this was an everyday thing between the two of them.

“Wildfire? This is going to sound odd, but have we met somewhere?” Lily asked, knowing that she had certainly never met Wildfire before. Wildfire’s smile slipped away as his eyes seemed to fog over. He wore the expression of somepony trying to remember the last few bits of a dream before it slipped away completely.

“Maybe…”