I felt my companion's hearts nearly stop, along with mine.

I slowly turned around. A long menacing shadow was cast upon the wall. I could hear its teeth gnash together. The fear bubbled up within my throat.

But from the darkness, hopped a white rabbit.

Myrrh gasps. "Aw, its just a little bunny!"

The fear was gone, but a strange sense of dread still remains. I did not remove my eyes from the creature, as Myrrh moved to sit beside it. She stroked its head, and it thumped its foot weakly, but happily. It was thin, very very thin. She placed the bowl before it. It proceeded to devour the contents.

I watched its skin shift over its ribs.

"I have never seen this creature before in my life," I lied.

But I had seen it.

Pictures formed in my mind, but they faded, like a memory of a memory.

Unseen fear continued to bubble and swell within my belly, its exact cause I could not specify.

"Welp, Ah jus' assumed it came here with y'all," said the salmon colt, "Ah ain't never seen it before neither,"

"Whatever," said child between mouthfuls of pellets, "It's here now. It's hungry. We have food. It's fine."

Then it was silent, but for the crunch of alfalfa pellets.

I realized that none of us had bothered to inquire about our host's name. But who can blame us, being so weak and famished.

I asked.

"Wellp, Ah'd bedder start with the way beginnin'. Ah was born in a big red barn, in a place called Sweet Apple Acres. Sweet Apple Acres has been in our family, every since Ponyville was first founded! Its been in da family, oh ah dunno, at least a couple hundred years! Meemaw were a tan mare named Apple Biscuits, and ma Peepaw were called Cluckles Pie.

Paw's real name weren't Cluckles o' course, but he yapped so much as a little colt, he git his rooster cutie mark, an' da name Cluckles stuck. Meemaw went up yonder ta da big barn in the sky, as a result of ma birthin'. Peepaw got real sad like, and he couldn’t lay his peepers on an apple biscuit without cryin' for a real long time after dat.

Ma name's Salmon Pie, I guess cause o' ma here salmon colored coat, butchya can calls me Sammy. Ah've never liked ma name, an' Ah suppose ders nothin' stoppin' me from changin' it now, but Meemaw was livin long enough after Ah came ta dis earth ta give me dat name, so fer her Ah've kept it.

Paw said dat Meemaw was always fond o' readin dem big fancy books, da farmwork kept her from doin' all travlin' she wanted, so books were how she git ta see da world. She had always dreamed o' a big city education, but she couldn't leave all my kinfolk behind ta work da farm by demselves.

Ya might wonder were I picked up dis style o' diction. Well, Ah simply spent too much time with ma brother, an' he picked it up from Maw an' her folk. Paw always thought it was a real hoot dat a town pony like him had two slow country talkin' sons.

Paw said dat one day, she were readin' a book 'bout animals livin' in faraway places, an' in dat book she read somthin' bout a critter called a salmon.

A salmon be a fish critter, and when it comes time ta make more little salmons, they go backs ter da river were dey was born. Dese salmons loves der unborn youngins somthin' fierce, dey swim back up da river dey were born in ta lay der eggs. When dey swim up da river, lots o' other critters wanna eat dem. Dey have ta swim up da river, even jumpin' oer waterfalls, watchin' all der friends git picked off around dem. Everythin' fights da salmon, da currant, da waterfalls, da other critters.

Den when dey get ta their birthin’ place, an' dey lay der eggs, dey die jus' like dat. Dey die so dat der little fish babies can have happy childhoods an' grow up ta be big strong fish critters. Lots o' da salmon don't even make it ter da river in da firs’ place, da ocean bein’ a dangerous place for fish critters, and when dey set out fer da journey, dey know dey might die.

It sure is a looooooonnnnggggggg an' wild cycle kinda thang, ain't it?

Da las' thang ma Maw said before she died, was dat Ah was her beautiful little salmon. Ah always wonder if she ment somthin' by dat, or if it just be cause o' my light pink fur.

I were always sad Ah never got ta meet Meemaw, but Ah had ma Peepaw, an' ma big brother, an' we were happy togethers.
Af'ter Maw died, Paw, and ma brother, and baby me moved outta the big red barn. Maw's family were real nice an' hostitible like, but stayin dere made Paw sad, so we moved back in with ma grandmama at Suger Cube Corner. Paw took up workin' the storefront, ma big brother True Arrow helpin' him, and we lived there happily for a while. Ah was too young ta notice all da political turmoil dat had been poppin up. Equestria had been turnin' sour ever since before Paw was born. Paw never wanted us ta be afraid, but Ah think True knew wats were goin's on. Cause o' the great war, an' den dat other war, an' da civil war we be currantly wrapped up in, da royal coffers got real thin.

When Ah were first startin' ta go ter school, dey started taxin' everypony. Dey would tax yer fer any little thang dey could think of. Lot's o' their reasons were just excuses ta take all da bits dey could. Dey taxed ponies per foal dey had, or fer da foals dey didn't have, dependin' on der mood dat day. Eventually, dey taxed da food worst o' all, forcin' ponies ta pay as much a whole days wages fer a days worth of food fer one pony.

Now, dey didn't wanna do da food tax all public like, afraid dey might cause an uprisin'. Ta inforce da tax all slow and creepin like, they tried ta recruit da ponies dat sold or growed da food. Dey tried ma Paw first, him bein' sich a popular pony, dey thought he could git all dem other food growers and sellers on der side. When dey first tried ta recruit Paw, dey did it all gentle like, promisin' tax cuts and sich fer helpin' dem. Dey wanted ta git all da ponies ta raise der food prices all at once, an' give da extra bits ta dem, thinkin' dat den dey could keep it all hush hush.

Ma dear ol' Paw, bless his heart, said no. He went an' told all dem other sellin' an' growin' ponies what da goverment folk tried ta do, so when dem tax ponies showed up at der homes, all dey got were doors slammed in der faces. Dey left us alone fer a little while, an' we thought dat dey were gone fer good. Soon though, dey assigned a whole bunch o' guards ta da town, some ponies out from Canterlot I reckon. Den all dis propaganda nonense started comin' in. Everyday, from big ol' magic projectors, a picture of a fat black pony with a set o' golden scales on his flank would appear in the town. Dem guards would make us gather round in the center o' town, once a day, ta listen to da pony talk.

Everyday he'd give us a speech, somthin' about how Equestria needed all o' her children ta band tagether, ta support our mother country. How we all needed ta fork over more bits ta da goverment, cause da rebels be tryin ta take down Equestria from da inside. How those who didn't wanna pay no tax were traitors, who hated Equestria an' even Celestia harself. O' course he said it alot nicer dan Ah just did, dat pony sure knew how ta talk sweet. We was never told his name, but we all called him Streched Thin, cause at da end o' every speech he said:

Remember, we ar' Streched Thin!

Despite da sure an' steady way da taxes climbed, dem speeches started gittn' ta ponies. Da mood was sure gettin' grim in Ponyville, soon ponies who once called demselves friends were at eachothers throats. An' when ponies got into real bad fights, dey would sick da goverment on da other, sayin stuff 'bout dem talking trecherous or bein' in da rebellion. Paw did his best ta keep everypony happy but he were only one pony, and depite bein' related ta da element o' laughter harself, dere came a point when even he couldn't make dem other ponies smile no more. Soon most o' dem other sales ponies raised their food prices ta da taxponies likin’, but not ma Paw. He git most o' his foodstuff from my Maw's family at down at Sweet Apple Acres, and together dey agreed ta not raise da food prices. Soon da taxponies got word o' dis, and it pissed dem off somthin' fierce. Dey started sendin' threatinin messages, but Paw just laughted 'em off.

One night, dere was a loud knock on da door. Paw opened it, and sure enough, it were dem taxponies. Paw told True Arrow ta take me upstairs, dat he didn't want me ta hear dem talk. But Ah could hear dem talkin, sure enough, dey were loud enough dat all critters in the Everfree forest probably heard dem. True Arrow covered my ears before Ah heard wat da taxponies said dey would do ter us. True Arrow later told me dat Paw told dem dat if dey thought dey could scare him, den dey had another thang commin', and laughed as he slammed da door behind dem.

Ah wish Paw would've just raised his food prices.

Paw had always been da proudest son of a bitch Ah've ever had da pleasure of knowin. He lowered his prices, an' he stopped forkin over ALL da tax money. On one summer day, after ma brother and me had spent da day out an' about, we come home ta find grandmama dying on da floor. Ah held her hooves in mine, and her head layed in True's lap as she told us how da taxponies had come with da guards.

Grandmama had answered da door, and when dem bastards saw dat she weren't who dey were after, dey cut her down, an' left her dere ta die, like some rabid dawg. As she left dis world, she told me and ma brother dat dey had taken ma Paw, an’ he was likely dead or worse now, an’ not ter go after him.

Her dying wish was dat True Arrow would keep me safe. Ah think if grandmama were here now, she would think if ma brother did nothin' else in his whole time upon dis earth, he kept me safe. We buried grandmama in her favorite meadow, next ter grandpapa and ma meemaw. Ah wanted ter make Paw a headstone, ta put next ta Maw, but ma brother wouldn't let me. He said dat we must always hope fer da best, no matter how close da darkness gets ta swallowin' us whole.

If Paw were da proudest pony Ah've ever known, den True Arrow were da bravest. He an' our folks at Sweet Apple Acres stopped chargin ponies fer food. At dis point, da school had been disbanded, accordin' ta da goverment, dere was no time fer learnin' no more. Everypony had ter work, ter make bits fer der tax. So True Arrow took up runnin Sugar Cube Corner, an' da first thang he did was put up a sign on da door, sayin' how folks need only pay if dey could afford it.

Ah remember when he put up dat sign, he was tellin' me how no pony in Ponyville would go without eatin' fer another night. Soon da other ponies were inspired by wat he did, and dey too followed in his hoofsteps. Soon da entire town operated on a trade basis, all secret like o' course. When told about what happened ta ma Paw, the townsponies git real angry like.

They chased out dem Canterlot guards, even killin' a few o' dem. Dey broke da magic projectors in da town square, and ripped down all dem propaganda posters with Stretched Thin's face on dem.

We was happy fer a little while.

Then, Ah caught a sickness. Not THE sickness mind ya, thank the Lord Mare Almighty, the Lamb born from the womb of Horse.

Ma brother took me to see the new doctor mare. She weren't da town doctor fer dat long, took over a couplo years back. She sure picked da wrong time ta come ta Ponyville, Ah tell you hwat."

Sammy's face changed to bear a strange expression. A strange new look, which I can only surmise is bound to some strange dark emotion no foal was ever ment to feel. He takes a deep breath, and continues,

"Ah were sick, so Ah were ta spend da night at da clinic. Dere was another foal there, Morning Dove, she were in ma class when we still got ter go ta school. We were sleepin', when we got woken up by da sound o' glass breakin' upstairs. D-den, the thing came through the window.

Ah dunno what dat thing was, but Ah tell ya, it sure weren't from Equestria. Da doctor saved us! She came a runnin downstairs roarin' like a warrior angel with a big ol' fire poker, an' oh boy did she sure beat da crap outta dat thang.

We tried ta tell da others. But none o' dem believed us, well cept fer True Arrow o' course. Sure didn't help that Morning Dove wouldn't breathe a damn word about it. In fact, she pretty much stopped talkin' alltagether. Not ta mention da fact dat folk don't really take kindly ta weird ponies round these parts, or learned ones neither, so da doctor didn't wanna go blabbin her mouth off. She got even stranger after dis all happened. Oh sure, she'd still see patients an' such, but she always seemed real distracted. Started leaving alot of da patient interaction ta her nurses an' interns. Spent alot o' da day locked up in her office. Folk said when deyd see her around town, they could hear her murmuring. Different folk said different things, but da one phrase dat came up alot was

'Follow the Pale Lagomorph?'...whatever dat means...

The only one she'd REALLY talk to was ma brother.

He began to stockpile food an' water, in dis here ol' abandoned castle, an' in da basement o' Sugar Cube Corner. O' course, all da food in dis castle were hidden better dan it is now. He told no pony but me, an' probably da doctor as well, about it. Our Mayor asked True Arrow for advice so much, he'd might as well have been runnin' da town. In his spare time, ma brother taught me how ta shoot dis here bow, and in a itty bitty while, Ah got reeeeeaaaal good at it. We had only about o' couple moons o' peace, when da sickness started breakin' out.

When da first pony got sick, True Arrow got real scared like, and he wouldn't let me eat any food but fer what he stockpiled. He told da other ponies about da food, but even though they had believed him lots of other thangs, they didn't on dis one. Dey didn't believe da doctor neither, at first. At first dey laughed at dem, da doctor an' ma brother. Dey stopped laughin' real quick when da first ponies started breakin' out in oozin' boils, and bleedin' from dere eyes until dey died. We stopped seein' da doctor altogether. Dere were ponies walkin' inta da clinc, but dere weren't no ponies walkin' out.

Ah remember da last day Ah saw Morning Dove. It were when dey were still makin' coffins fer all da folk dat past. She were with one o' da bigger colts from our class, he used to make fun o' me fer ma blank flank. He had a peacock feather fer a cutie mark. Ah remember how he were climbin on da coffins, while squealin' 'blank flank! blank flank!'

Mornin' Dove didn't say nothin', she jus' climbed up dere with him.

Soon after dat, almost half o' da town were gone.

So many ponies, dat dey could no longer keep digging everypony dere own graves. Ya might have seen a couple o' unnatural lookin hills walkin' over here...

Wellp, dose weren't no hills.

One night, Ah was sleepin in ma bed at Sugar Cube Corner, when ma brother shook me awake. I remember wonderin' why Ah could see so much light through da windows, an' wonderin why ma brother had his bow an' arrows on his back, an' a knife in his hoof. Ah remember how I burst inta tears when he told me dat we had ta git out now. Ah had never heard him sound so scared before. He took ma hoof, an' without another word, dragged me down the stairs an' out da door.

The town was burnin'.

Ma brother dragged me through da shadows, as Ah could hear da screams o' da townsfolk. Dere were solider ponies everywhere, killin' folk in da streets. Da soilders were settin' fire ta da buildin's, even shovin' some o' da townsfolk inside, an' barrin' da doors before doin' it. Dey didn't kill all da ponies outright, some o' da mares an' fillies dey gathered up, and shoved dem inta carts with big cages. Dey captured stallions too, but only da prettiest ones.

Ma brother pulled me behind a flamin' sales cart, as a mare Ah knew ran screamin' from three big stallions.

She usta sell roses, outta one of dem flower carts in da townsquare. Ah remember dat Ah tried ta get away from ma brother, Ah wanted ta help her. But he held me still, and waited for da stallions ta be ontop o' her, before he pulled me away. When Ah try ta sleep, Ah can still hear her cryin', and dem stallions laughin' an' cheerin'.

Da clinic were on fire like all da rest. As we ran past it, da whole buildin' crumbled and shot fire an' sparks up inta da sky.

We ran through an ally, an' one of dem tried ta git us, but ma brother's cutie mark shown true when he put in arrow through her brains.

We just kept runnin'.

Dere was a pregnant mare, a knife in her teeth, with two foals cowerin' behind her, out front o' Quills an' Sofas. Dere was a soilder tryin ta git her foals, but she screamed at her, an' a little flame o' hope ignited in ma heart when Ah saw her tackle dat mare and cut her down. But dat flame died right quick, when a passin' gang o' dem saw dat, and d-dey...d-d-dey...dose bastards cut dat baby from her belly...right in fronna her screamin' foals.

We just kept runnin'.

We finally git clear o' da town, an' ta dis ol' castle. Ma brother pushed me in da door, and shoved his bows an' arrows inta my hooves. He told me he were goin' back. Ah cried...oh Ah cried hard fer him not ta leave me. He said he gotta try ta help dem townsponies. Ah tried ta make him take his bow an' arrows, but he wouldn't take 'em, he said Ah'd need em more den he did. He hugged me tight fer a second, an' kissed me on da forehead. He told me dat he loved me, an' dat he would be back real soon, an' not ta worry 'bout him fer even one minute.

Ah cried dat Ah loved him too, as he slammed da door behind him.

Ah watched da town burn to da ground from da windows, an' dem soilders haul off da ones dey captured. Dey burned da dead ones, throwin’ dem ontop o’ da buildins dat dey already set on fire. Ah waited fer ma brother ta come back.

He never did come back.

An', whenever I feel real bad about it, Ah always think of ma grandmama's final wish, fer him ta keep me safe. Ah think dat if ma Maw an' Paw an' Grandmama knew what ma brother did, dey'd be real proud o' him. Like Ah said before, ma brother was da bravest pony Ah've ever known..."

Sammy's voice wavered then, and a single tear slipped down his cheek.

Author's Note

This chapter was inspired by a forgotten historical event known to history as The Rape of Nanking.

The people of Nanking had no angels.