Game of Circumstances

Chapter five: Hope and ruins

I smiled softly as I saw the cream-colored mare trying to jump from wall pieces to wall pieces without touching the ground while humming a song.

After all, who said that you couldn’t play when you’re all grown-up? I don’t know why, but I think that if I had a daughter someday, I want her to play like that in the ruins. Who knows, maybe I’ll hire Hap’ as her foalsitter?

But I ain’t here to speak about my future. I’m there to tell you my past.

We were heading right on New Hope, because Hap’ seemed to know perfectly where it was located, so I didn’t need a map. I said it already, but I’ll say it on more time: she’s weird. Like, real weird.

I contented myself to follow her through the ruins and the ash toward New Hope. She was born with a GPS thing in her head, I guess. You know, the Global Positioning Spell, that staying spell that helps you by giving your position in space by a magic net recovering the wastes. Hmmm… maybe you don’t know, but I swear you’ll like to have one. Maybe I’ll buy you one someday.

‘’ Hey, Hap’.’’ I said. Yeah, it’s here that I began to call her like that. She faced me with a smile and stopped humming her song. ‘’ How do you feel? Breathing real air again, not being confined in a dark, little room covered in dust?’’ She smiled wider.

‘’ Ooh, it’s so awesome!’’ She squealed in delight. ‘’ I’m gonna threw myself a welcome party once we’ll be arrived in New Hope!’’

‘’ How do you even know the city’s name?’’ I asked, raising an eyebrow.

‘’ Well, I heard the raiders speaking about it, duh!’’ She replied. ‘’ We’ll be arrived soon, and I’ll make a big party for everypony, and my family will be proud of me, and…’’

‘’Cut it off, Hap’.’’ I stopped her. ‘’ Go back playing in the ruins.’’ And, surprisingly, she did what I had said.

At least, she’s dropped her axe and her psychopathic side after exiting the Black Eye’s territory, and looked nearly like a naïve and innocent child playing in the ruins, although she was covered in blood. Break a little the child’s picture, I guess…

Quite quickly, we reached the surroundings of New Hope. And there, you’re smart enough to guess that, of course, things are not going to take place as they would have been. I remember mostly one thing.

The silence.

It was too quiet, if you want my opinion on the matter. Even Hap’ had shut up by herself, and by Luna’s round flank, I swear that it happened only a few time.

I stopped and took my recently acquired rifle. Nothing. I allowed me to breathe, and Happy to move. She nodded and began to trot… uh… guess how? … Well, happily, duh! Ah, I’m pretty sure you didn’t saw it coming. You did? I’m impressed.

I followed her quietly, checking the surroundings. When it’s quiet, you’ve much more percent chance of being attacked. Like, seventy, something like that. It’s a friend that studied on the matter who told me that. Yeah, I’ve got only friends a little ‘strange’, but it’s fine.

But, this time, we hadn’t been attacked. But, you bet it was too late for New Hope. We stepped into town.

‘’ Uh, Cal?’’ Happy said, raising an eyebrow. ‘’ Where is everypony gone?’’

‘’ Do I look like I knew?’’ I replied.

‘’ No, but I figured that you might know.’’ She said. ‘’ Ooh! I know!’’ She suddenly said, looking excited.

‘’ What?’’ I asked.

‘’ I’m sure they’re hiding from us and they’re going to make us a surprise party!’’ She squealed.

‘’ Uh…’’ I started, but she didn’t hear me.

‘’ And there will be punch, and cupcakes, and cookies, and…’’ She continued.

‘’ Hap’…’’

‘’… and balloons, and candies, and music, and…’’ She continued, ignoring me.

‘’ HAPPY PIE!’’ I yelled. It had the attempted effect. She stopped saying stupid things at an alarming rate and looked at me. ‘’ They’re not gonna make us a surprise party!’’

‘’ Ooh… but… why?’’ She said, sad-looking.

‘’ I don’t know.’’ I admitted, and it was the whole truth.

‘’ See? You don’t know!’’ She said, smiling again. ‘’ So they could have been preparing a surprise party for me while you were saving me!’’ I facehoofed. It was too much for me.

‘’ Don’t you UNDERSTAND when I’m speaking?’’ I shouted. ‘’ I didn’t know YOU were in there! NOPONY knew! I was down there in this SHIT because I had to find…’’ I stopped, as I realized something. I hadn’t taken the strings. ‘’ … oh SHIT! The STRINGS! I forgot about the strings! Oh, I’m so dumb… How am I gonna pay the doc now? They’re gonna make me works for free at the bar, and I’ll have to do favor for stallions, and…’’ I threw myself on the ground, both hooves on the head. Happy was looking at me like I had grown a second head. Although I understand her now: I must have been looking so ridiculous just then.

‘’ Uh… Are you okay?’’ She asked me. Visibly, she didn’t care that I had just been yelling at her ten seconds ago. But again, it was Happy Pie, the only pony I know that is capable of making you a party when you bought you a soda and call it a You-bought-yourself-a-soda party.  I swear it happened.

‘’ NO, I’m NOT!’’ I sobbed. ‘’ My life is OVER!’’ Tears were running down along my face.

‘’ Oh, come on.’’ She tried to comfort me. ‘’ I’m pretty sure they’re not going to make that to you…’’

‘’ Of course we’re not!’’ A voice shouted from behind me. ‘’ At least, I’m not going to make it, and I appear to be the only one survivor in this shit, so you can consider you safe.’’ I turned my head to face the stallion that had just spoken.

Doc Sirius. He seemed tired, his medical blouse stained with blood and dust, but smiled warmly to me, holding a pistol with his magic. You know what? I’ve always thought that unicorns were cheaters with their fancy magic.

And then, what he had just said made its way to my brain. Yeah, I’ve always been slow to understand things.

‘’ E-everypony’s dead?’’ I stammered, surprised. ‘’ How…?’’

‘’ Raiders attacked.’’ The Doc said. ‘’ We’ve been taken by surprise. They killed everypony but me and this Gibbs, who has mysteriously disappeared when you came back.’’

Uh? This ‘Gibbs’ is strange? You don’t say…

‘’ He let you a message.’’ The doc said, launching me a little piece of paper with a little bag.’’ All’s here.’’ I think I still have the paper, wait… ah, there it is:

‘Dear Callixus,

I know I’ve been quite the jerk when we met, calling you a prostitute and all, but I’m still pretty happy that you actually accepted to satisfice my request. If you’re reading it, I assume that you’ve meet Happy Pie, the last descendant of the well-named Pinkie Pie, last element of laughter.

If you don’t have taken the strings, I don’t care; it’s not even like it mattered. If you have, keep it for our next meeting. Who knows, I could use a few more strings. Here are the promised bits, a bag in the case of you lost yours, and the doc Sirius is still alive.

Take care of you three,

Gibbs

P-S: If I was you, I would go to Happiness.’

I’ll be honest. At this very moment, I was totally surprised. How did he know? What was the meaning of all of this?

‘’ What the hell…?’’ I mumbled.

‘’ You see, somepony knew about me!’’ Hap’, who had been reading above my shoulder, said. ‘’ But I don’t understand how he knew…’’ She added.

‘’ Doc?’’ I said, facing Sirius, who had put his gun at his side, letting it hanging up to his medical belt. I put the bag plenty of pieces in front of him. ‘’ I think there’s enough in this bag?’’

‘’ You know, you can call me Sirius if you want.’’ He replied. ‘’ And, given our current situation, I think that you don’t have to pay me.’’

‘’ Well, thanks Sirius.’’ I continued. ‘’ Do you know where is Happiness?’’ He grimaced, and scratched the back of his head. You actually don’t know him, because if you did, you’d know that when he do that, things are not gonna be okay. You’ll see it soon enough.

‘’ Hmmm…’’ He began. ‘’ Yes, I do, but…’’ Uh… but. I hate this word when it’s at the end of a sentence. Because that always announce that our current situation suck. Or that our conversation buddy isn’t sure of himself, which is even worst.

‘’ But…?’’ Happy, who’d sat up behind me, said.

‘’ Come in…’’ He sighed. ‘’ It’s a long way, I need a map to show it to you, and I’m sure you’ll be glad to know that I saved what I could from the Supplies and the Bar.’’ And he entered his clinic, me and Hap’ just behind.

He led us to his desk, just next to the bed where I had come back to reality two days ago. Things ran pretty fast in the Canterlot’s wastes. In two days, one town had been depopulated; I had met some strange guitarist, who seemed to know more about me than I do; I had also teamed up with a crazy mare and we had killed half-a-band of raiders.

The doc put the map that he had managed to find in the chaos that was his desk on the table. It was an old one, visibly corrected with a pen by somepony’s hoof. On it were written the principal towns of the Canterlot’s desert. In the middle was New Hope. Far, far north from there, near of the Royal Pony Sister’s castle, was written ‘Happiness’. Sirius put a hoof on it.

‘’ Happiness…’’ He sounded inexplicably quite sad. ‘’ … is far away from our, current position, down here.’’ He moved his hoof to New Hope. ‘’ If we want to go there, we’ll need ammo, food, mental strength and a whole bunch of luck.’’

‘’ Why?’’ I asked.

‘’ We’re currently only twelve kilometer far from it at pegasi’s fly, but no one of us appear to be a Pegasus, so we’ll have to walk. The road isn’t really helping it. We’ll have to pass by Hellhole…’’ He said, moving his hoof to the named town. ‘’… The Canterlot’s train station, the Royal Canterlot Theater, and we’ll have to stop by the Royal Grocery and the Royal Canterlot Hospital too.’’

‘’ Is everything Royal in Canterlot?’’ I asked. Even now, I’m pretty much with myself. These pre-apocalyptic ponies of Canterlot were just snobby bastards that cared only about themselves. I swear that if it was possible, I’ll make come one of them from the past to the Canterlot where I spent my childhood to watch him –or her- struggle with the daily horrors I’ve grown used to. It would be funny.

‘’ You know, it was the Princesses’ residence down here before the Breath.’’ Sirius answered.

‘’ Pfff… what a band of snobbish selfish ponies!’’ Happy, who’d been listening surprisingly quietly to us, said. ‘’ Having two princess living in your town don’t make you better than everypony!’’

‘’ Actually, I’m not the one who’s going to contest it.’’ Sirius replied. ‘’ But how boring and selfish were the old Canterlot’s inhabitants is not the current matter to discuss.’’

‘’ Hm-m.’’ I nodded. ‘’ Let’s talk about this trip to Happiness! Currently, how much time?’’

‘’ Hmmm, I’ll say five days if we stop to sleep every day, but it would be only three if we stop only when we can’t make another step.’’

‘’ I see.’’

‘’ Ooh, ooh! Can I make the muffins for the road?’’ Happy asked. I winced.

‘’ Sure! Why n…’’ Sirius started.

‘’ NO!!!’’ I cut him. ‘’ Sorry, Happy, but we really don’t have time for this. ‘’ I said.

‘’ Okie-dokie!’’ She said, jumping outside. ‘’ If you’re looking for me, I’ll be playing outside!’’

‘’ Why?’’ Sirius asked.

‘’ Because you don’t want to die poisoned.’’ I replied. ‘’ The last time she fed me with her cooking, it was leather taste.’’ He grimaced.

‘’ Oh.’’

‘’ Yeah, oh.’’ I finished. ‘’ You said it was the raiders that killed everypony here?’’

‘’ Eeyup.’’

‘’ Coming from where?’’

‘’ The music store.’’ He answered.

‘’ What?’’ I asked.

‘’ Yes, the music store.’’ He confirmed. So that’s how we could escape. They were only half of the raiders in the base! I felt much less heroic suddenly. The silence took over between us.

Minutes passed. We could perfectly hear Hap’ playing like a foal outside. I smiled softly. I had only switched gender two days ago, but I felt already like a mother with an exuberant foal. A little like my own mother and me. And you can’t say that Hap’ is a full-grown mare, all the things like that. She may be, but she’s stayed a foal in her head. I still think that it’s the only one thing that saved her from dying in this hell that was the raider’s basement.

So yes, she’s a little like the foal I’ll never have. What? Yes, I could have a foal with any pony I want. Look, you… Ah, sheesh, I was JOKING, for fuck’s sake! Jo-king! Do… Do you even know what this word means? Oh, you know what? Whatever, I don’t care. I have a story to tell.

‘’ So,’’ I said, breaking the silence. ‘’ You said you had saved some interesting things from being pillaged?’’

He smiled, showed me a door with a hoof and said: ‘’ Just by there.’’