Author's Note

Sorry, it took so long. College doesn't allow you a good chance to do much anymore. Still, I hope you enjoy it and let me know what you think.

Chapter 4: Safety in Silence

In this world, food is our gold. Though unlike the precious metal, food is a consumable that we need to survive. Guess that's why I don't feel as bad for searching through Fluttershy's bags.

Not the worst thing we did. I'm not sure why Fluttershy has that gunk on her, but we remove it. We wash her up in the tub we have in the apartment. Hazel and I felt uncomfortable through the entire time. Moving her about, we clean her hooves, then legs, then her "privates," her torso, and her face. Her light pink mane and tail along with her soft yellow fur that glows at the moonlight. We agree to keep quiet about it from her if she wakes up.

From what we can tell Fluttershy is still alive but is unconscious. Most likely she has a concussion from the fall. There's nothing that can we do though. A minor healing spell can't fix brain damage. We can only wait.

I keep going around her bag for any morsel of food. So far a few cans of nuts, some apples, a canteen of water, and some seeds that look like pumpkin seeds. The food here isn't enough though. She was in a big group, but this is just a nights worth of food, maybe a day if we ration. However, there's two of us with a third out of commission. I fumble around and stumble across a round disk.

I pull it out to the light. It's a small mirror for makeup. I pop it open and see myself... for the first time in two years. I see a crimson red stallion with a messy white mane that falls loosely on the right side of my head. I pull it down and pull some of the oil off my mane. My green eyes are bloodshot with bags around them. I have a big beard and mustache that runs halfway down my neck. I never see myself with a beard and mustache, so it is an odd thing to see on myself.

A soft knock comes from the door. I stand up and open the door to a crack. Hazel, waits out in the hall. I open the door.
Hazel walks in with a bunch of snow on him.

"Hey," He greets me. "How's Flutter doing?"

"Stable, from what I can tell," I reply "but I'm no doctor either." I walk back to the floor next to Fluttershy on a makeshift bed of blankets and pillows. She's still nude from the bath, and we can't mess with the bandages either. I'll most likely lend her some of my clothes when she gets up. "She doesn't have much in the way of supplies though," I go on as I turn to Hazel

"Damn, that's a bit depressing for us," he states.

"Yeah, though she still has some other stuff. Bit of ammo for the magnum, some fire starters, and water purifiers."

"Good, but we need some better supplies," He chuckles a bit, "Guess it's good that I found something."

"What is It?" I ask in wonder.

"The old school down south of here has a big chain on it. So no one has gone in it. We can break in it but the building used to be under quarantine." He continues.

"Ok. How's a school supposed to help us?" I question.

"Well....like I said, it's under quarantine. But the infected swarmed and never let anyone out. So, Equestria forces never left. So we stroll in, take the goods that they haven't used and head on out."

"You son of a bitch man. That's awesome!" I congratulate, "Yet..." I turn to look at Fluttershy laying down on the floor.

"So...one of us will have to stay here then," he assumes.

"How should we decide?" I ask.

"Rock, paper, scissors?" I nod in agreement. We pound our hands on our palms. One. Two. Three. We release our choice. I play scissors; he did rock.

"Alright, I'll go," I volunteer. "Just watch Fluttershy, alright."

"Fine. You stay safe ok," Hazel finishes. I grab my onesie, my jacket, my mask, my boots, and some of Fluttershy's armor. I open the door and look back inside. "Good luck and take some of these," Hazel hands me a few bullets. "It's not safe to go alone. Take this." He smiles a bit under his mask. I smirk back at him and give him the finger.

I walk through the streets with the cold wind at my back again. It tears through my layers of clothes like butter. I duck in and out of buildings to avoid the fliers. I walk to a large field with a flea market down by a small beach.

The beach is solid ice, has been for quite some time. Corpses of ponies frozen on the top almost like bobbers on rods. Their skin shrinks down and wraps so tight you can see their bones. Tufts of fur were still on their bodies that protrude out of the ice. It makes my stomach flop around at the display.

A howl rages into the night sky and pulls me away from the graveyard. I duck down low to the ground. I look over a patch of snow. I a group of dogs hovers over a dead body stiff in his icy tomb. They lash out with giant tongues with blades against the body's bare skin. Their mouths split art at their jaws, and tentacles lower out. I raise up and see teeth on the end of rotting gums. They devour the corpse in seconds. My heart sinks as the dogs start to head for the shoreline.

I crouch down with my knees at the snow's surface and make my way to the to the flea market. I sneak in without a sound and close the glass door behind me. I turn around and wait for my eyes to adjust to the dark room. I start to wish I didn't come in here. A collection of bodies litter the dark room in the market. The sick were all over the place, they fuck, and eat, whatever so much as twitches. The group closest to me catches my attention first.

They were two stallions in the middle of sex on a plastic table. The top stallion pounds away at the other one who's laying on their back. The dominant pony's penis is a maze of blades, needles, and all sorts of horror. He mutilates his partner's ass with a devious smile on his face. The partner starts to laugh in a high pitch tone. They lock lips before the dominant beast tears out a tooth and crushes it in his mouth.

I dove under the entrance counter next to the store. My head spins to the awful smell of sweat, decay, and piss. I peer back out the glass door and see the dogs at the shore. I can't go back out yet. I look back inside to see if somepony sees me and watch the carnage continue.

A threesome between two stallions and mare starts up in the middle. The animals drink blood from the mare's breasts. They cut into them with hook teeth and suck out what all they can get. I didn't watch it for long and look to the next group. Two mares rip their lips off with each kiss they have together. Teeth and bone with blood down to their torn up clothes. The next couple is a mare and stallion who nibble on each other's fingers and toes. They make it to the bone and crush it in their hands or mouth.

Oh, Celestia. They never get old with their love of violence. When I see them, I fear what will I turn out to be if I were sick. Celestia came to my mind. Please Celestia, Luna, Cadence and other alicorns, please be dead. The idea of minny gods with the intent of death on their mind. Makes me shutter

I look out to see the dogs again, then look at the market. I know an old stallion starts to fuck a small filly with semen all over her. The filly's legs were eaten away by acid that scars her thighs. The elder animal turns around towards me, and I see part of a foot in his jaw. Please, kill the filly, she giggles at the pain, but she needs to die in peace.

I check the other side of the market to see a beauty pageant by the looks of it. A mare walks up to a group of stallions who wolf whistle in her direction. The mare's clothes are brown, raggy, and lose her. Her stomach is open with the entrails around her neck like a scarf. She flicks a flap of skin sewen on the top of her head. The flap is big enough to conceal her mane, might even try to replace it.

I look down to the floor and see myself in the shiny pink. I start to bounce old memories around in my head as I wait for this to end.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Good morning," the pony in the suit greets me. "You must be Dapper?"

"That I am sir," I reply.

"Good to meet you. Please come in," the suit motions me in with his hand. His office is clean and tidy without a drop of dust in it. The wallpaper resembles fireworks at a night sky. His desk has several stacks of paper on it with little desk items on it. He has a cube of small magnets, a bird that sips in a cup, and some regular office supplies like staples, pens, and paperclips. A large computer with a mechanical keyboard and a thin monitor takes up the majority of his desk,

"My name is Mr. Volt by the way," he states as he extends his hand out for a handshake. I shake his hand and feel how soft it is. A pony's handshake can tell you a lot about them. "Thanks for coming," Volt stops his handshake, "have a seat he tells me as he points to a comfy wooden chair in front of his glossy wooden desk.

Volt's appearance catches anypony's eye. He wears a bright, blue suit with a black shirt and an orange tie to strike out. His fur is a silky white that shimmers in the light. He has a yellow mane with black bolts down it. His tail is the same except he has it in a braid. He sports a pair of thick, black glasses that conceals orange eyes. "So your name is Dapper Rune, correct?"

I gulp, "I am, Mr.Volt. I'm here for the spell crafter job," I state.

"I know," he declares. He slides the keyboard in front of him and starts to type. "You graduated from Canterlot University, you grew up right here in Fillydelphia, and you've developed quite the reputation for blowing up part of your dorm that left a foul smell for the year."

"They have that on my records?" I ask.

"Yes, but I won't hold that against you for your interview. In fact, I love to see all kinds of craziness in my employees. It shows whether or not they have creativity in their work. So, Dapper, I ask you this. What exactly can you bring to Delta Scroll Incorporation?" he finishes with a wide grin.

My mouth dries up. I worry if Volt can see me sweat in my polo. "I know... I know I can help bring what this company needs to profit," I declare. "I have the skills and endurance to craft exquisite spells that can shape and change the world for the better. I know that you are looking at the future of the company. Right here in front of you."

"So you say," he judges me. Volt grabs a pencil and twirls it between his fingers. "Follow me Mr. Rune." He stands up and proceeds to his door. He opens it to a large room of desks all in rows. Each desk a pony writes away on scrolls or paper with elegant shapes and runes. I follow Volt out into the corridor. He goes to the first desk on his left and grabs a paper. He turns back and hands me the paper. "Show me," he whispers.

I'm not sure what to write. I'll try a simple fire scroll, ones that pony's use in self-defense. I place the paper on the desk and sketch a fireball on it with a pentagram behind. I roll the paper up and raise it in the air. I focus on it and unleash a stream of fire into the air. The entire room looks at me. "Too simple," Volt states, "Show me something with a bit more oomph."

"Ok," I reply. I grab another paper and sketch away. My professor doesn't like this, but this will impress Volt. I sketch a stinger of a scorpion and draw a tree behind it. I aim it low to the ground and focus. The ground shakes and ripples across the floor. Dust flies around and forms bone.Muscles, skin, and fur grow out from the joints and nooks of the skeleton. A massive mane of hair forms around the skeletons head and stands tall above anypony else. A manticore forms all the way and looks every pony in the eye. "Oh, my Celestia," Volt gasps. "Did you make it bound also?"

"Yes," I reply with a grin.

"Well, you are our future kid," He lowers his hand and grabs mine up. "Welcome, to Delta Scrolls inc. I have work I have to do, but you start Wednesday, you hear?"

"I hear."

"Great." He walks back to his office and closes the door. I look at the manticore who sits by for a command. I rip up the scroll, and he decays away to a pile of ash. Whispers gather around me as pony's aww and praise. I walk down the middle aisle. I pull the door open and feel the sun on my fur. This place isn't the main building for Delta Scroll's, but it's a decent manufacturer for them.

I reach into my pocket and pull my touch screen phone out. I dial away as I watch for a cab. I hear the ringer once. "Hello?" Dahlia picks up.

"Dahlia. It's Dapper. I got the job."

"That's awesome to hear. Now we can have two things to celebrate tonight. I'm still at my parent's place, are you at Fillydelphia?"

"I am. I'll be there soon. I love you."

"Same. See you here." She hangs up.

I wait a bit and see a taxi. I whistle hard, and the cab stops by me. I open the back and hop in. "Where to?" The driver asks.

"Outskirts of Fillydelphia. 745, Bubbly lane."

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I open my eyes to the dark. There is no noise, or life, or any violence around. The group isn't her; they run off as I sleep. I look out the door and see the dogs litter all across the beach. They are dead with large gashes and bite marks on them. Damn. I open the door and move down south.

I see the school up ahead and see the chain on the door. A noise breaks my concentration. I look up to see a flyer of some over my head. It doesn't appear to be a skin glider, but it doesn't mean it's not a creature or sicky. I approach the door and wave a fire across the chain. It breaks with a small click that makes me smile.

I open the door to see the empty halls of the once marvelous school. I draw my magnum out and tiptoe in.

The floors were under heavy snow with a thick ice layer on top. The roof is about to fall apart by the looks of it with beams and wire that stick out. A cold chill travels down my back at the walls. The white walls have blood on them with small bodies against them. I go across the hall and kneel down to them. They each have a bullet hole in their head. Have mercy.

I hear a crack in the ice. I jump back up towards the sound. I see Mr. Volt in the middle of the hall. He smiles at me and waves. "Hey, Kiddo." He greets. He walks up to the wall and up towards the second story.

The hell is that thing. I hope it isn't one of those tormentors that Hazel warns me about sometimes. I see a pair of stairs in that leads up. I walk over to them and ascend.

At the top, the snow isn't as bad. The floor has tiles of blue rectangles. However, more colts and fillies line up against the wall. I try a door. Lock. I go to the next one. Lock. The following. Lock. I grab the fourth door and push it open.

It's a massive classroom with desks around the middle of it. The room has a large hole in it that snow pours into without a care. I open the door all the way and ready my gun. Empty by the looks of it. I walk in and see a duffle bag on the floor.I approach it and scan the room again. Empty still.

I unzip it and see a mountain of food in it. Seeds, fruit, vegetables of several varieties in it. Thank Celestia. I reach down for it. However, how is a bag of fresh food still out here anyway? My question doesn't take long to solve as I hear the click of a gun behind me.