Sympathy For The Devil

Chapters

Chapter One: A Sandy Beginning
Chapter Two: Stranger in Green
Chapter Three: Mother Knows Best
Chapter Four: My Everything
Chapter Five: Quick Change
Chapter Six: Bad Moon Rising
Chapter Seven: Desperation
Chapter Eight: Eve of Destruction

Chapter One: A Sandy Beginning

Once a fire is snuffed out, the only thing that can be worried about are the embers that are left behind. A roaring raging fire like our world, our home that was once vibrant and filled with life. Now a world turned to embers, and buried under dirt and rubble. A once proud and independent nation, now a shadow of it’s former glory. Once extravagant cities and lush farm land, now turned to rubble, and barren wastes scorched by war and famine. Alliances that had taken decades to form were shattered in several years as the entire world was embroiled in conflict.

Life as we had come to remember, was no more. Memories of life before the war were like a bittersweet dream, ever fleeting in this painful and dull existence that we were forced to suffer through. The few who survived the war now fight for survival in the ruins of our once great nation, doing whatever is necessary to survive in the remains of our home. Every day is a fight for survival, to find the resources necessary to survive in this dead land. I am one of those ponies.

Even amongst all of this destruction, some of us still fight on. Some of us still have hope. Some continue to resist the invaders. I’ve heard stories of ponies that have fought the Griffons where they were weakest, freeing prisoners from their camps, stealing their weapons, and killing their leaders. Yet no matter how much damage the Resistance causes, the enemy always seems to recover. They treat them like they are just a distraction, not a true threat.

Not all of us have placed our faith in the Resistance however. Some of us have united under the guidance of the Elders and their leader, Saint Adonius. Adonius is the one who brought us the Codex Regendi, the holy book that has brought us hope in our forlorn existence. The holy Codex spoke of ponies capable of astounding feats. Being able to traveling at neck breaking speeds, able to smash their enemies with ease, and withstand a direct hit from the Griffon’s terrifying “flintlock muskets”. The same weapons that allowed the Griffons to steamroll over Equestria. The legends said that these Protectors could defeat any enemy with ease. While many are, skeptical of these stories the ponies that follow the Elders believe them wholeheartedly. These mythical Protectors are considered servants of the gods, who will one day return. As it says in the, “Codex Regendi,” a holy book delivered to us by Saint Adonius, “When they come, the earth shall split and the skies will shatter and from the openings, the Divine Protectors will come riding on iron chariots and smite the evil that had destroyed this land,”

Of course it sounds ridiculous, but when you've been pushed to the edge of life, you tend to believe some ridiculous things. At times I found myself flipping through the pages of the book. Maybe they are out there, maybe they are just ghosts and fables, I guess only time will tell.

3/7/2058

South Palomino Desert…

4:24pm…

With my saddlebags secured on my back, I trotted down the central street of town. The sun seemed to beat everypony down as the ground cooked beneath me. The path I walked was just sand, no cobblestone no pavement, nothing. The rusted and unkempt buildings around me creaked and shuddered as a hot breeze blew through. Other ponies shuffled around like zombies as they went about their day. I was returning from out of town, not too far, but just beyond the community farm. It wasn't much of a farm, it was just a tilled field where plants could be grown, surrounded by a decrepit scrap iron fence and guarded by the town militia. The farm only provided a small amount of produce,so we had to ration the food to allow the entire town to eat. The rations aren't much, but they’re better than starving to death in the desert.

My town's name was Faith, named by the Priest who founded it a long time ago. This place was not much of a home, it wasn’t even a normal town, just a string of shacks protected by a bunch of ex-royal guardsmen, all of which supervised by the Elders, ponies whom had lived through the war and weren't taken by the Griffons. A literal Tartarus hole, but it was the only thing we had and it was the only place I knew. We wouldn’t dare leave, the guard forbids it, and even if did get out we would be caught by Griffon search parties for sure. Luckily, they don’t come this far into the desert, they can’t survive out here, but we can. But we wouldn’t make it far either, we sit on a very delicate balance of nature, if one of our resources begins to decline, we will surely fall. But even though the town was falling apart and on edge all the time, it was still home. I had no job here, but, neither did anypony else. Besides the guard, no one really did much besides survive, and tend to their collapsing homes.

Coming to the end of the street I turn right down an alleyway between two shanty homes. The shadow the buildings provide is a welcome relief from the sun. Somehow even though Canterlot, and by extension, Equestria, were no more the sun still rises, and the moon still comes at night. Nopony around me could understand why they still rose and fell, but we were all thankful for it. A gust of warm wind kicked up again as I exited the other side of the alley to see a small shack. The roof was sagging badly and the walls were due to cave in. It had only one door, and lacked windows.

This was my home, even if I regretted seeing it every day. My mother and I lived here, my Dad however had left town a long time ago, along with two others in search of the Divine Protectors. They were sent by the Elders, in a sort of holy march to, “locate the land of gods,” as they put it. Needless to say they never made it back and were pronounced dead by the head guard, Sergeant Shallot. I didn’t want to believe that he had given up on us, I could feel he was still out there, finding a better way not just for himself, but for all of Faith. I loved him, he taught me of the old world, before the invaders came, using books that he had snuck out of the temple. He never got in trouble for that, cause they never found out, luckily. He kept me safe from the dangers of the outside, constantly protecting me from the dangers of the world. He loved me and I knew it, and I refuse to believe he died in the desert for those Elders.

I approach the door of the shack and push it open. The light shines in through the door frame as the building grows brighter. We had little in terms of furniture, a table and two chairs which were held together by tape and hope, a bucket of water which sat over a dimly lit open flame suspended by iron rods, and a few straw pillows in the corner where we slept. A small circular hole was cut into the roof where the fire sat, allowing smoke to leave. We didn’t have much, but we considered ourselves lucky to have what we have.

Mother sat by the fire, using her magic to turn a wooden spoon slowly around in circles as steam and smoke rose past her.

“Mom, I’m home from the farm,” I said pulling off my saddle bag and resting it down on the cooled sand floor of our home. She turned away from the fire, her light purple eyes looking at me, weak with fatigue, her once proud white coat turned a dark grey from smoke and age was illuminated by the dull flames of the fire. Her mane, now a deep shade of blue, was wrinkled, frayed, and curled down her neck, it glistened lightly. Her tail shared the same quality and style, being almost the same in length. Her legs, crossed and sitting, had turned darker as they went down as she aged, nearly matching the same color of her hoofs.

When Dad left, she had sunken into a deep depression. And having the head of the guard pronounce him dead finally broke her. She now stay here, a broken mare, stressed out of her mind and constantly worried about me.

“Oh, you’re back, thank heavens, you took a while,” She stood up and gave me a weak, yet warm hug, “Tell me, did the guard give you their table scraps again?” She said looking me in the eye while her fore hooves rested on my shoulder. Her tone had shifted from worry to discontent when I opened the bag. Inside, at the bottom, rested two celery stalks, two carrots, and one potato. She shook her head, and picked up the bag with her magic, taking it over to the fire.

“Those lousy guards, what good are they? They call this a week's ration?” She was clearly disappointed. She sat down again and began unpacking the things from the bag, and immediately began chopping them up with a sharpened piece of scrap metal. She began to speak to herself, something that she does a lot after Dad had gone away.

“Those bastards are sitting on the only stockpile we have, and they can't give us just enough food for the week?” She said as the knife shook in her horns grasp out of rage mixed frustration. My mother never did like the guard. She saw them as cowards, she felt they shouldn’t let the Elders walk over them, telling them how to act, what to do, and how to do it. To her, the Elders are the ones who killed Dad. I have to be their for her, without me, she has nothing more in this life. I’m afraid to leave her alone sometimes, I’m not sure what I’ll come home to if things get worse. My mom was the only family I had left, and she meant the world to me, I could never let any harm come to her. And if something did happen to her, I would stop for nothing until the pony that wronged her was dead. Family is a bond that lasts forever, even through death.

Some time went by and the sun had sunk deeper in the sky. We had prepared the weeks stew and had put it way in a cooling pit. This was to keep the food, somewhat fresh, well as fresh as we could get it. Once we had finished our daily meal we made sure our hut was safe for the night. We sit near the smoldering ashes of the fire, it crackled and sometimes shifted giving off bursts of ashes that shot up into the air. I stared and watched the charred wood collapse on itself as my mother sat and watched as well. We would do this time to time, we would just stare, Father would usually tell stories in this time, but ever since he left, the house felt like it was just a little bit smaller.

“Azalea,” She said softly. My eyes lifted away from the pit and gazed up to her.

“Yes mom?” I asked. She continued to stare at the fire, her eyes unblinking, lost in thought.

“Our time here in Faith is growing shorter, and when this town's time is up, and we must leave, I want you to go, never look back,” She said suddenly very sternly. I cocked my head a bit. What did she mean?

“I don’t understand what do you mean, never look back?” I asked shifting my full gaze to her. Now her head tilted down wards a bit.

“You have your whole life ahead of you, and time is one thing that everypony is running low on, I’m not saying this day will come tomorrow, but when it does, I want you to remember one thing,” Saying this she turned away from the fire and looked at me, a glistening in her eye. She put a hoof under my chin, lifting my head to come even with hers.

“This life will try and take everything from you, don’t let it. At any chance you get, run and never stop, I made that mistake of stopping and look where that got me,” She closed her eyes as a tear fell out and hit the sand, “I fell in love with a pony I couldn’t live without, and now I lay here, broken. Don’t let anyone down, and never let them go,” She opened her eyes again this time with focus and sternness, “Even me, you will learn to forget me, I will come to terms with that, and so will you, I believe that to be true,”

“Mom, I will never leave you, your family, and family stick toge-,” Before I could finish she placed a hoof over my snout.

“Yes, but, you're old enough to understand that in this unpredictable world we live, in it's kill or be killed, and I couldn’t live with myself if you got hurt, or heavens above forbid, die because of me. I already failed once, and I will not let that happen again,” She turned to me fully, her silhouette illuminated by the dying flames of the fire.

“Family must learn when to say goodbye, no matter how hard it is,” She placed her hoof on my shoulders. Her pupils locking with mine. Tears began to swell in my eyes. The thought of leaving my mom alone was, something I just couldn’t come to terms with. I had always been with her. I’ve never left her side, I was always too afraid to.

“I want the best for you, trust me, mother knows best, can you trust me?” She asked. A warm but sad smile grew onto her face. I guess she was right.

“Yes mom,” Without hesitation she brought me into a hug as her chest shook with slow sobs as she leaned against me.

“Thank you, that means the world to me,”

I know mom, I know...

Chapter Two: Stranger in Green

3/14/2058

South Palomino Desert…

9:32am…

Morning in Faith is rather quiet, the sun rises over the hills and brightens up the town, the locusts start to chirp away as the air turns from cool, to warm, and the towering desert rocks in the distance turn back to their proud red color. Of course mornings are almost just like the evening's here, silent yet tense. The only reason the morning is different from the rest of the day is because the guard does roll call. They come to each home and record who’s inside in a small book that they carry with them, then they check the book with the towns log. If everything checks out okay, the guard goes about their day, patrolling the streets of Faith.

But if somepony turns up missing, an investigation is lead by the guards second in command with help from The Elders. The Elders supply a tracker, a detective of some sort that’s used in aiding their search for the missing pony. I’m not sure how they work or even if they work at all, but the only thing I know for sure is that an Elder Tracker is known to be very persistent. These cases can go on for a while, the pony in question is branded a renegade, and their home is cut off from the general population and is put under 24/7 watch. But it’s not just their home, the whole town is put on watch, no pony may leave or enter. But, it’s not like there's anything outside faith to go to, the only thing that anypony can go to is the scrap yard, which in reality is just an old storage building that was here before Faith was. Some say Faith was built off of it, and I think their right.

I had left the hut a few minutes ago after the guard came around. I was going to the Scrap Field to see if I could find something useful inside. Father told me to stay away from the field when I was much younger, he said it was dangerous. ‘Their are lots of heavy things being suspended in air by stacks of scrap, I don’t want you to get hurt, I’m not sure I could live with you getting crushed by a heavy girder or something, understand?’ That’s what he told me. But I was older now and I was very capable of taking care of myself. My mother however, shared the same view, I assured her that I was perfectly fine and would be extra safe, but even then, I sometimes have to sneak out of the house in order to visit the yard.

To get to the scrap yard from Faith you have to pass the Elders Church. The church was a tall and proud building. It was a long structure with big long windows that went up and down the left and right wall, while at the front above the entrance a single circular window was built. Everyday they’d hold a ceremony for about an hour. I can hear them right now as I get close. But it wasn’t a “them,” it was a “him,” the High Elder. I pass by the front door of the church, today it was open for some reason. I briefly look in, and I can see him on the stand at the far end of the building behind a podium. Light streams in from the windows and brightens the whole room. A few ponies sit at the benches all staring at the High Elder.

“He comes to us not when we want him to, but when we need him to,” He spoke loudly and strongly. For some reason instead of walking past like I always do, I stopped for a moment. I walked from the street to the doorway and leaned inwards. A little listen wouldn’t hurt, would it?

“For he is the Divine Protector, he watches us with hopeful eyes, he waits for his time to raise his hoofs and safe us from our lives. He moves across this land with his disciples, rescuing those who have fallen from his light and smiting those who work with the Yellow Claws, the ones that destroyed your land, and my land,” He spoke in elegant ways, mimicking the Codex. I watched how the ponies looked at him, unblinking and frozen, as other held their head low, not in disappointment, but in prayer. The Elder lowered his head to the podium as few book pages began to flip in front of him.

“He may even be protecting us right now without our knowledge, for it is said in the Codex, ‘He will bring his hoof down in blinding fury upon those he sees unfit, his green eyes the last thing they witness in this life,’ He said raising a single hoof to the sky, “Our lord hear our thanks,” He spoke.

Suddenly the other ponies began to murmur in unison. At that point I turned away and left the threshold. I continued on with my walk to the scrapyard. Usually there were more ponies then what I saw today, I guess ponies faith in the Church was fading.

Ahead I could see it, a single building with a faded red roof and tan body, made out of stone and steel. Around it were large piles of brown rusted metal and trash. One pony could only imagine how all that rubble got their. But I really didn’t care, to me it was just a Scrapyard. Most of it was relatively untouched, even if most of the ponies from around town used it from time to time to get things they needed. The rest of the way to the Storage building was short, yet the desert made it feel much longer than it should've, with the heat and gusts of wind.

But soon I was digging through the piles of rusted and forgotten scraps of metal and wood. Though their was plenty to go around, most of this, well, junk was just that, junk. Every bit of trash I turned over or pulled out wouldn’t do me any good. It wasn't the piles fault though, the town has pretty much cleaned the bottom half of the piles of anything useful. The stuff that hadn't been touched was at the top of the pile. So, I’d would have to climb for it. Getting a good hoofing in the side of the small mountain of trash I started to climb. I slowly ascended the pile, carefully placing each hoof in the strongest places I could find as I went up. But soon, the top of the pile was insight, much to my relief. I wasn't really to thrilled to be climbing this thing, but their were undiscovered riches to be had, and I was going to get them before anypony else.

I reached the top and immediately began to search around for things I could use. A glint from something in a box caught my eye as I rummaged around. I moved over to the box in question and began to uncover the object of my interest. Lone and behold the glint came from the glass of a pair of binoculars, broken yet still usable. It was black, and slightly bent in several areas, but after testing it to see if I could see a pony walking down the center street, I ruled that this thing was still useable. Instead of putting it in my saddlebag, I roped it around my neck, and let it hang down onto my chest. I continued to search the pile for a while, and after finding little I could actually take, I sat down on an old safe and looked out towards the red rock mountains off in the distance in front of me. I watched as sand blew across the lifeless desert, just like waves in an ocean, the sand went on and on. It was endless.

“Is there even anything out there?” I asked myself. It looked as if Faith was the only thing for miles. I could still remember the stories of Old Equestria, the lives of ponies that had lived before me nearly 40 years ago. Maybe if I was born just a few years earlier I could have seen it all, the lights of Manehatten, and the bustling streets of Canterlot Proper. The railroad that stretched from one side of the land to the next. Ponyville and the Protectors of Friendship.

All of it sounded like a delusional dream to anypony who hadn’t heard the same stories that my Dad told Mom and me. It was a shame.

“Maybe one day i’ll leave here, WITH Mom and go see the world, that would be grand!” I said to myself again. I stood up from the safe and was about to begin my journey back down the hill when something else caught my eye. It wasn’t coming from the pile, it was coming from the desert, a fair distance out no less. I tried to focus on it alone, but couldn’t, so I lifted the optics to my eyes again to see if that would help. Needless to say it did. With a little adjusting, I was able to see it just fine. And what was, “it” to begin with? At first I couldn’t understand, but as I continued to stare at it the more I believed. It was a pony.

But not just any pony, it walked alone, leaving a faint trail of hoof prints in the sand as the wind blew them away. His fur was grey, and around his neck and snout was a tan scarf that fluttered slightly in the breeze. He wore what looked like some kind of iron frame saddle that covered the top half of his body, and at the bottom was a long triangular black box thats tip pointed forward. On top of this, “rig” was a light green bag that seemed full of something, it had multiple pockets and straps. Underneath this framework of iron was what looked like a vest sporting a pattern which could only be described, as a woodland pattern. Underneath all this equipment he wore clothing, actually clothing not just rags made out of trash. The clothing he sported shared the same design of the vest shirt and pants both. His hoofs were covered by what looked like small grey and green leather tubes.

He sported no tail, and his mane was hidden underneath what looked like a helmet. It wasn't like a royal guards helmet it was shorter and was, “camouflaged,” just like the rest of him, greenish. His eyes however were uncovered, that's how I saw his fur color, but his eyes were squinted nearly shut from the sand that was being pushed up around him because of the wind. Suddenly he stopped and lifted his right hoof up to the front of his helmet. His head turned right towards me as he pulled down a pair of thick goggles. The lenses on the goggles, were slightly green.

“Green,” I said out loud. Green, green eyes. His goggles were green, could this be what the Elders were talking about? But then, they were wrong, if this was a Protector he needs his disciples, and he walks alone. Is he wrong or is the Church wrong. I didn’t know I had no answers. As he lowered the goggles he continued to look over towards me, then he looked directly at me. I could feel his eyes staring at me, as if he was looking right through me.

“Holy Shit!” I dropped the binoculars and stumbled back. We made eye contact, and it wasn’t just a glance, he stared at me, he really saw me. I needed to get out of here before he came looking for me, or worse I needed to tell someone what I saw, but who would believe me? The Church, the Guard, my own Mother? I needed to go, and fast... But maybe just one more look wouldn’t kill me.

I hesitantly raised the looking glass to my eyes again, only to find out that the figure in the distance, was no longer there.

Chapter Three: Mother Knows Best

3/14/2058

South Palomino Desert…

10:15am…

My heart was racing with fear as the trash piles nearly toppled over behind me, when I ran from the Scrapyard. The words of that cursed Holy Codex repeated in my head over and over again like a record player from tartarus, “his green eyes the last thing they witness in this life,” I wasn’t sure what was going to happen to me, was I going to die, was this the end? It was as if I could still feel his eyes burning into me, every time I closed my lids, his eyes were there. It was like he was breathing down my neck, following me, but every time I’d turn around, they’re would be nothing there. Pins and needles spread throughout my body as ran away from my impending death, as I tried my hardest not to think about it. My mind was moving a mile a second as I entered the town limits and speed past the Church. Ponies surrounded the entrance, for by the time I got back the session had let out, and they quietly talked amongst themselves. But all mouths stopped and all eyes watched me as I frantically ran past them.

Time seemed to have slowed down as I turned my head to the group and looked at one pony in particular. The High Elder. His rustic red eyes looked back at me, wide and confused as his tattered and dust covered clothes and black mane waved in the breeze of the heat. He watched me as I ran past, his mouth opened as if to say something, but then he looked away, almost as if he couldn’t help me, or wasn’t going to.

Though the High Elder in Faith pretty much ran everything, including the guard, and our food supply, it could be worse. He got us this far with his, “wisdom,” but I’m fairly certain he’s all talk, and no bite. He just sits in his temple all day, the only times he comes out is when he needs to deal with the ponies, or somepony requests his presence, like a Tracker or the Head Guardsman. He’s usually quiet, I can only hear him when he’s holding a ceremony, other than that, his door stays shut, and the candles inside unlit.

Quickly I turned the corner of the alleyway that led to my house, the walls seemed to tower over me and look down covering me in darkness. On every reflective surface I saw him, or I thought I did anyway. And every time I thought I did see his hollow green eyes, I ran faster, I had never ran this hard in my entire life. My lungs burned, my vision shook, every part of me wanted to stop, but I couldn’t, I wouldn’t let myself. Soon the light at the end of the alley overtook me, and their in the short distance, was my safe haven, home. Almost in the blink of an eye I reached the door and nearly tore it from where it stood as I dove inside.

“Mom!” I frantically yelled, choking on my breaths. I saw her in front of me, turning around in a flash and rushing to my side.

“Azalea! What’s wrong? Are you hurt?” She frantically shouted. I lifted myself off the ground, and circled around to her flank, staring at the doorway, staring outside. Though I had found my way home, I was no longer running which means I now had given it time to catch up.

“C-close the door, please,” I said still trying to catch my breath, body still trembling. I placed a hoof on my chest trying to feel for my heartbeat, the only way I could know if I was still in the living, and not dreaming in the afterlife.

Luckily I had no trouble finding it, for it was pounding hard and fast, nearly jumping out from my chest. Mother had gone over to the door to close it, but in that time my eyes had looked around the house almost a dozen times, looking for things that we’re out of place. Every creak, every little noise the house made, could have caused me to curl into a ball and hide underneath the table, every sound made me dart my head to the source and look for those eyes. I wanted to keep running, but for some reason I couldn’t leave, or even move for that matter. It was if I was frozen, in shock.

“Azalea!” I heard mother's voice. I turned back to front and there she stood, as if she had been standing their for a while, calling me. She looked terrified, her eyes looked into mine with a sense of complete frantic confusion. The atmosphere was tense, but, seeing my mother standing their, broke the spell I was under, for I quickly jumped to her and pulled her strongly in for a well needed embrace.

“Mom, I saw something out there, outside of Faith a pony or something,” I started to say. I could feel her hoofs cross over my back, almost instantly making me feel a thousand times better, “I-I don't want to believe what I saw, but, I have to, I saw a Divine Protector, and he’s coming for me,” I said, still watching the door, my eyes unblinking, petrified.

“What? Azalea, that’s,” She stammered on her words, “no that nonsense there are no Divine Protectors,” She moved me backward a bit, so that her head and my head came to be level.

“What makes you think you saw one?” She asked her left brow cocked upward. I shook my head, if only she were there.

“Mom, trust me, it was one of them, it's eyes, they glowed green, and it looked right at me,” I said looking off, not focusing on anything in particular. Just describing him sent a heat flash over my face. A hoof came up to my snout and lifted my back to my mothers face.

“How about you start from the beginning, and calm down a bit,” She said. Calm down!? She telling me to calm down, i'm gonna die soon, I could never calm down! Although I sat down and started to breath softly on the outside, inside my body was still shaking to it’s core terrified of what going to happen to me.

“Okay I guess. Well, this morning I, went to the Scrapyard,” Before I could continue, mother's face became upset. I knew she didn't like me going to the yard, but that was unimportant now.

“Azalea, I told you not to go there multiple times, how many more times must I tell you?” She scolded me. Her words, like hoof tacs compared to my current situation.

“Mom, I know, I’m sorry, but can I continue, please,” I said back, almost impatiently. I know mom doesn’t like attitude, but right now, it again didn’t matter.

“Yes, yes, go ahead,” She mustered her response, still quite angry.

“I got to the yard and climbed a tower of junk, and when I reached the top, I found these,” Saying that I levitated the pair of binoculars from my saddlebag and rested it on the floor at mother's hoofs. She then picked it up with her magic and gave it a look over.

“Well ya see uh, on my way down, I saw something off in the distance, far outside Faith,” I began to say, lifting up my hoofs level with each other and far apart to emphasize how far away it was.

“So I looked through the binoculars and I saw it, walking towards the Red Rock Mountains off to the west. It was, just walking, it had nopony with it, just itself, alone,” I said remembering back. “It wore, green clothing, and some kind of half metal cage around its top back, and on that cage was some kind of long triangular rectangle, thing,” It was hard to describe what I saw, but I tried my best.

“It wore a helmet with a greenish brownish design, and vest with the same kind of markings underneath the cage thing. It wore, what I think we're boots with the green clothes tucked into them. He had no tail, and his mane was covered by the helmet. His mouth and snout were shielded by a tan scarf, so the only thing I could see was his upper face,”

“And, what did it look like?” Mother asked, now sitting herself.

“His eyes were pretty much closed at that moment, cause I guess the wind was blowing hard, but his coat was this, dark grey. But, that’s when he stopped and pulled down a pair of goggles from his helmet, and through the lenses I saw his eyes glow green,” I began to shake as his eyes came back to my mind, “And that’s when he looked at me, and I don’t mean a quick glance, I mean looked, at me. Right at me,” I said looking her in the eyes. She looked down at the binoculars again and walked over to a crack in the wall, and began to manipulate it in the light beam that came through.

“Well, maybe from his perspective he saw this instead of you,” Suddenly my eyes were blinded by a sharp light that seemed to come from nowhere. It was the binoculars lenses, the light was shining off of them, nearly blinding me. But I guess I saw the point, maybe he wasn’t looking at me, but the glint from my scope. That made me feel slightly better, not that much.

“Oh well, maybe, but that doesn’t matter, his eyes, they glowed!” I quickly retorted with. She smiled a warm reassuring smile and came back over to me, placing a hoof on my right shoulder.

“I’m pretty sure you saw the light from the goggles shining off the sun, creating the illusion that his eyes were glowing,” Hearing her say that, made sense to me. Like some how she was right, and what I saw was really nothing. But what if she was wrong? What if I really had been marked by death? But, if the Codex was correct, then I would have died on the trash pile instead of at home.

Now that I had time to think about the whole situation, and reflect on my actions, I had come to the conclusion that I had been over reacting this whole time. I guess what I really did see was just a pony, a traveler no less. Some questions remained unanswered but, I doubt my mom could answer them. For now I was content with myself.

“I guess you’re right, sorry for scaring you like that, and, sorry for going to the Scrapyard,” I said, sulking. Her hoof began to mat down my hair as she pulled me in for a hug.

“It’s okay, I forgive you, but, seriously I mean it, never go back there,” She said with a stern motherly tone. I nodded,

“Yes mom,”

Mother knew best I guess...

Author's Note

Sorry for the week long wait... Post comments bellow, peace out

~Calex Winteridge

Chapter Four: My Everything

3/16/2058

South Palomino Desert…

12:15pm…

I hadn’t mentioned the stranger to anypony, but yet somehow they all knew about him. I figured I wasn't the only one who saw him, but I wasn't expecting many others to have seen him. But the way everypony was acting today, it was as if everypony had seen him. Since Faith is a small town, word gets around faster than it should. Ponies were scared, beyond scared, for the first time in a long time. Today after morning roll call, I saw the church full of ponies, even guards. The High Elder looked as if he haddn’t slept in days, as did everypony else in their. They recited their scriptures and hymns as if the more they worshiped, the more it would make them think that what they saw was a mistake, a false sign. But it wasn't. He was there, and they knew it, they were just all in denial. Our time was coming, you could feel it in the air, you could sense it even. Impending doom.

I walked up town today towards the farm, just to change up my routine. But on my way their a pair of guards in silver painted armor came out from behind an alleyway and started walking the same way I was. They were just a little ways in front of me, and were talking to each other. I decided, being a little bit curious as to why they hadn’t joined their brothers at the church, to pick up my pace and get behind them, as if to hear them better. Luckily they didn’t hear coming up behind them, which made listening, easier.

“So, this whole stranger thing, it’s got everypony tied up in a knot,” Came the guard on the left. The guard on the right shook his head lightly,

“Yeah, it sucks. Everypony terrified of what tomorrow will bring, and to be honest I think I’m in that boat,” He said regretfully. The left guard snickered.

“Seriously? You believe the end is near? Grow a backbone, we’ll be fine,” The guard said bumping the right guard with his hoof.

“Look I’m serious we’ve had it good for a long time, we're overdue for a disaster,” He said back in defence. The left guard turned to him, clearly upset.

“Jesus, you’re such a bucking worry wort. Trust me, ain’t nothing gonna happen to us, I’ll bet you your next week's ration i'm right,” He said his face changing from anger to a sly smile. The guard on the right now looked at him, with a face of surprised discontent.

“Oh, shut up. There is no way I’m taking that bet, I have a family too you know?” He said back in anger, and a little bit louder than before. The guard on the left shook his head, and rolled his eyes.

“Whatever worry wort,” At that point I had heard enough and back off, and headed back towards home.

2:34pm…

The wind blew softly across the desert sands as the sun crashed down onto me with blinding dry heat. I sat on the roof of our home, looking out over the vast, endless dessert of the South Palomino. I squinted my eyes, looking through my binoculars out towards the horizon, yet all I saw was heat waves and sand. It was as if it went on forever, no water, no plants, no life. The only place I knew was Faith, and you would be right to assume this place was abandoned from the lack of life it gives off. Yet, somehow we survive out here, alone and isolated.

I turn around, and sit again looking over the rooftops of the shanty town, the church steeple like a pin stick up over the other roofs. I look off towards the Red Rock Mountains in the far distance, there plain and mundane structures, looking like works of art compared the desert. It was like a picture painted on a wall, it seemed so close yet so far away. I would never go there, not because I didn’t want to, but because I didn’t need to. Also because my mother would never let me. In reality, being stuck here my whole life, underneath my mother's, well, “wings,” made me wish I could see it all. Maybe just one day when I get older, I could leave Faith behind and explore those mountains, and see the wonders which it held beyond.

But, considering my mother, I’m not sure she’d come along. Life has been hard on her and like she said, family needs to learn when to say goodbye. Though I kind of wish she would lighten up a little, or find something else to obsess over instead of me. I mean, if I were leave tomorrow, there wouldn’t be anything left in this world for her to turn to. I’m afraid she may just, take her life. She’s lost her husband, she lives in the middle of the desert, and she’s constantly worried that tomorrow, any tommorow, a Griffon Party will come over the hills to the north west of town and end it all. So I guess I can see why she'd want me leave, and, never come for her. I guess she’ll hold herself responsible if I die under her supervision. Then I’ll be one of two ponies she’s seen die that she's cared about. She loves me so much, more than I could ask for. She shelters me, yet, tells me to leave and never come back.

I don’t get it…

Of course I may never get it. Her way of life works in mysterious ways. Ways that’ll I’ll never understand, and maybe it’s best that way. Let her live how she wants, it’s the least I could do for her after all she’s done for me. Of course if that day comes, when I half to part ways with her, I’m not sure I could If I’m being honest with myself. I’ve been with her since forever. I’ve never really thought about leaving since, well just the past few days. It’s gonna be hard for me and for her when we must go our separate ways. But Lily Gaura, will go down in my mind and heart, as more than just my mother. She’ll go down as my sun, and my moon, the reason I get up in the morning, till I rest my head at night. There is nothing I wouldn’t do, to see her face when I wake up. Because, she is my everything, and I am her everything…

And god help anypony that gets in between me and her...

Chapter Five: Quick Change

3/24/2058

South Palomino Desert…

2:15am…

We shouldn’t have let our guard down, just when we thought this whole thing had blown over, they hit us, like they knew we had moved on with our lives. They came in the night, when the moon was full and the air was cool. It had been a stressful week ever since that stranger gave the whole town a scare, and ponies were just now starting to move on with their lives. Everypony was just beginning to act like the whole thing hadn’t really happened, like they had pushed it out of their mind. But of course, that's when all Tartarus broke loose, when we least expected it.

I slept soundly in the corner of the house on a small bale of hay that we had built over the course of the past couple years. Suddenly I woke up to, what I thought was nothing. Nothing was making noise, nothing had bumped me, and my mother slept soundly next to me. Yet, I had awoken, my head still resting on the hay. I looked quickly around with my eyes before picking my head up off the ground in confusion, and did a full 360 of the building.

The moonlight somewhat illuminating the home, giving everything a calm blue haze. Nothing was out of place, and nobody was here yet, I had still woken up, why? I was about to rest my head again, but in the few seconds that it took me to look around the room, something had cut the air with a whistling hissing noise that was immediately followed by an earth quaking explosion. In a heartbeat I shot up from out of the corner and looked to the front door where a new light came from, a bright orange and yellow light. I instinctively ran to the door and flung it open to see where the light was coming from. The light that was coming from the outside originated from beyond the alleyway to our home. I ran as a fast as I could to the end of the alleyway only to stop at the mouth of the passage as fire and smoke filled the streets to the right of me.

“Oh my god,” I heard myself say as the origin of the fire was revealed to be coming from the church.

It’s steeple, still hanging high as the under parts of it burned like the deepest pits of hell. The roof had fallen inward as some parts of the walls on the left and right side, no longer existed in some places, being replaced with smoke and flames. Then before I could turn back to home, another whistle came from far above me. I turned and followed the hiss as it seemed to move through the air downwards. Then another explosion came, this time to the left of me. The ground shook and the air seemed to pass through me with immense force. A giant fire ball spewed up from the ground and into the air as iron panelling flew through the sky and into the street, all coming from a place beyond my vision. From beyond the tall walls of the building to the left of me where the explosion hit, came another smoke trail, but this time I knew where the fire came from. It was the farm.

With new found fear I turned around and ran back towards home as a third explosion echoed throughout the town, sending a shock wave through my body, my mind racing with so many emotions and thoughts. We were under attack, and the town was officially doomed and broken beyond repair, we needed to escape, and fast. I nearly busted the door down as I reentered my home, a light that wasn't burning before had now lit up the room, it came from a single oil lamp that flickered on the table. Mother, being visibly mortified by the bombing, had finally gotten up and was already packing things inside my worn saddlebags.

“Mom, the church is gone, and the farm has gone up in flames, Faith is under attack!” I screamed at her, shaking, not in anger, but in fear. Her head snapped around to look at me clearly in a state of panic.

“Azalea, help me get our things packed!” She yelled back as another bomb came from above and exploded outside. I said nothing and in a flash I instinctively moved to her side and began to help stow things away with my magic.

We barely had anything to begin with, no valuable items like jewelry or clothes. The house was practically empty, besides food and my binoculars. We made sure that every little morsel was packed away inside my sacks. Every little hiding place was picked clean, everything and anything that could help us on our way out was put inside. And when that was done I slipped on the bags without hesitation and made for the doorway, expecting my mother to do the same. But when I turned around to make sure she was coming, I saw her just standing there, with tears in her eyes. She just stared her mouth slightly agape, her face and soul making a honest to god effort not to collapse and cry.

“Mom? Why aren't you coming?” I asked, already knowing the answer. I walked from the door frame back to where I had left her. I looked at her as her glossy, leaking eyes locked with mine. “I know what you said mom but, I can’t leave you like this, not now, not ever,” I said finally confessing to her what I had realized and had come to know before now. She shut her eyes as she folded her hooves around me. She quivered and wept, drawing smaller and smaller breaths between sobs, tears wetting my fur as they streamed down and hit the sand. Through the crying she spoke.

“Azelea, I can’t lose you too, this world has taught me that life is too short, and can be taken away when you least expect it. That’s why you need to go now so that you have a better chance at living than me. Plus all I’ll do is slow you down,” She leaning backward resting her forehead on mine as she sobbed her sentence out. I was at a loss for words, nothing I could say now could change her mind, she was stubborn headed that way. But I could at least try.

“Mom please, I-I can’t I jus-,” I began to try and make an excuse, but she cut me off rather abruptly and sternfully.

“You listen here,” She said through her teeth and tears, lifting her head up again, “I’ve already made up my mind, now I need you to grow up, and walk out that door with dignity, not begging like a baby. I can’t survive out there, I’m too soft, I’ve never climbed a mountain, or lived off the land. But you, you’re different, I can tell. Ever since you were born I knew you were destined for greatness. That’s why I tried to keep you safe all these years, sheltering you from the outside. I now know I was hurting you more than helping you, but I know that you’ll learn, and adapt, something that I can’t do,” She said having opened her eyes, “You have the will of your Father and a heart of iron, and if I know him he’s still out there, wondering if your okay, I know he is.” As she said this, smaller cracks and pops seemed to explode from outside the walls to our home. It had to have been our guard fighting back against whoever was attacking us.

“Now you have the chance that I can’t take, go out there and find him, I know you can, I believe in you, now GO!” She said pushing me off, with force. I couldn’t believe I was doing this, my mind refused to make words or sense of the situation. Turning my back on family, the one of two living relatives that I knew existed. She was a part of me, and now I had to leave her behind. It was physically killing me as I carried my body towards the door, like I was tearing myself apart into two halfs. Pitiful tears fell from my eyes as I reached the door frame, the fire outside growing bigger and hotter by the second. I turned my head around to see my mother staring back at me, standing in a now even more empty home then before.

“Mom, I love you,” The words flew right from my mouth as if pulled out by a pair of claws. A weak smile came from her face as her eyes shined in the dim light of the lamp, a final goodbye, forever.

“I know, I love you too,” She came back, the words thrashing into me like daggers. They echoed in my mind as I left the building behind into the new burning reality around me.

‘I'm going to die…’ I thought to myself as the door behind me shut slowly. But before I could go anywhere a pony turned down the Alleyway and came barrelling towards me. His body movement and clothing, had painted him as a guard, a knight in silver armor, the only thing keeping the enemy at bay. He stopped a few hoofsteps in front of me, his height and body type nearly taking up my whole vision.

His armor, unlike what I thought or remembered was different than before. It was stained, and tarnished. Blood and oily black patches of muck were painted on his chest peice. His fur, originally white and clean, was now nearly blackened with ash and dirt. His eyes were heavy with fatigue and stress and his helmet was tilted slightly off center almost exactly resembling his chest peice in condition. To make a long story extremely short, he looked like shit. In his horn’s grasp he carried a long tube looking weapon. It had a large wooden stock in the rear and what looked three rotating barrels affixed on a single gear face on a center box. On the opposite side of the box was the stock. A hammer and strike face was present on the right of the center box, along with what looked like a pan underneath.

I had seen this kind of weapon before, but never in combat. The guards and Dad called them Muskets, long tubes that fired small little metal balls at really fast speeds that could rip a ponies arm off. Of course, I had never witnessed this, and the claims of its destructive power meant nothing to me, unless I could see it. But a part of me wished I never would half to see anypony get their arm blown off, yet I could tell this night would change all that.

“Hey, pay attention! Are you alright?” A voice came to me cutting off my thoughts, it was the guard. He had turned to the left and had begun to aim the Musket the same way he was facing. I shook myself awake.

“Uh, y-yeah, I’m alright,” I stuttered back.

“Alright good, you’re coming with me, I’m Corporal Morion second in command, orders from Sergeant Shallot are to evacuate the town as the larger bulk of the guards fight off the Griffon attack, we will be exiting via the rear of the town and will be heading south from here until further notice,” He said as more ponies followed up from behind him. All of them looked shaken and scared, the guards escorting them all looked like the guard they followed. They all clumped together in a herd as the guards surrounded them with all different looking muskets and weapons as they pointed them in different directions.

“Okay Let’s go then,” I said anxiously. He nodded and turned back up towards the alleyway and ran upwards as two other guards followed him. Soon the rest followed suite.

I needed to go on, my life may have just changed drastically, and reality as I knew it was falling apart, but. I needed to push on, no matter the odds. If not for me, then for my family, my father, my mother. I will see them again, I don't care if its ten minuets from now, or ten years from now, I will see them again. Family may part ways, but they will always be together, no matter what. I will make sure of that.

Chapter Six: Bad Moon Rising

3/24/2058

South Palomino Desert…

2:21am…

Confusion. It surrounded us, ponies shouting and crying could be heard over the fire, shots were flying past me and borrowing their way into other, less fortunate ponies, and the buildings that were burning had begun to fall apart and collapse to the ground. My once quiet town, the one I had grown up in, was no longer here. What had been born was just buildings now, broken husks of our once simple town. All the ponies I had come to see on a daily basses were gone, the battle had turned them into hollow shells, shadows of their former selves. Everything had changed so quickly no pony had time to prepare mentally so there they stood confused and petrified to the deepest parts of their soul. And here I stand in the center of it all, just another set of hooves following orders.

“Everyone, keep your heads close to the ground, and do exactly as I say!” A soldier yelled. He held his musket to his eye and fired a shot off into the distance. But as his one shot flew out, four more came back, exploding the walls of the alleyway we hid in, the same alleyway I had come to know over the years.

No emotion I knew could describe how I felt. It was as if reality was slowly unraveling around me, Tall and proud soldiers then, had now become children, crying out for their mothers, begging and hoping they could live for just a few more seconds. But every few minutes that passed, it seemed there was less and less of us, and more corpses lying motionless on the ground.

And all’s I did was just stare. My body was frozen as time had slowed, and my brain seemed to shut off all controls as I watched. Unblinking and unmoving as bodies fell around me, blood splattering onto the ground and onto the walls, ponies screamed holding their loved ones in their hoofs with tears cascading down their cheeks and soldiers, trying their hardest not to die or fall apart. It was as if, the whole world had exploded, and all I could do was wait. Wait to die, with no way out.

I felt a hoof press against my face, not roughly like I was expecting, but surprisingly softly. My head craned upwards to see the eyes of Corporal Morion, our new leader. His eyes filled with rage and anger, his face weathered and strained, but behind all of that I saw fear, the fear of death. Fresh red blood has stained his face as he shouted, not to me, but to the ponies around him. But all I heard was ringing.

Suddenly the Corporal turned his head and motioned, calling for his troopers. They quickly began to trot past. I looked at each one that passed, each one carrying his own mental baggage, but yet they all seemed to portray the same message.

Another hoof came and touched my face as the ponies followed the guards example and ran away from the killzone in front of us.

“Wake up, we're moving!” All my senses seemed to come back at once as the voice of the Corporal came to me,

“You need to move, now!” He yelled as he began to redirect me, pushing me backwards and turning me around, while he watched behind both of us toward the fire in the streets. Then as if timed seemed to speed by me, I found myeslf running as fast as I could south of Faith. The fires raging behind us burning my home as smoke filled the skies above, blocking the stars. As we passed the Scrapyard, I continued to looked back towards my burning village, watching it wither away. But just then I began to see movement in the smoke above.

The Griffon Army. Through the darkness came soldiers with blue flashy uniforms with white trimmings, and they wore tall box shaped hats with black rims on their heads. Their razor sharp claws hidden by long blue gloves that shined off the white reflection of the moon. They wore long black boots, with their blue pants tucked into them. And every single one of them carried a musket. But what made it all worse was that, it wasn't just a hoof full of them. I watched as dozens and dozens of soldiers flew from the sky, following us with their muskets all pointed towards me and the survivors. The ground around me exploded and threw up sand, their shots whizzing by my head with impossible speeds. The air snapped and broke with each shot that came. I turned back to front impossibly picking up more speed as more shots came from behind.

Death was on my heels I could feel him, my heart raced as adrenaline coursed through me, my brain screamed at me to keep running, and my ears heard every shot that came, every scream that went silent, every body that fell, and every shot we sent back. I watched as the unicorn guards that ran with us turned their heads around with their weapons raised, and fired away all at once, the thunder like boom echoed through the sand, smoke and ash whizzed past me in a almost blinding smoke screen, but I didn’t stop.

“We need to split up!” I heard a voice came, it was Morion again, his head turned to another guard, “take the group behind you and head east as fast as you can, hurry!” Morion yelled. The guard turned around and nodded firmly,

“Yes sir! My group break off!” He hollered back backwards to the ponies following him. Suddenly a small group of ponies parted ways with us, dust and sand trailing behind them as they headed to the left. Morion’s voice spoke up.

“Griffons like fighting bigger groups of ponies, they will be spared, they like the challenge!” As we continued to run, I watched the rogue group of ponies head off towards the Red Rock Mountains in the distance. I wish I could have gone with them, I wanted out. But I knew if I left now, I would be picked off for sure. I turned around to see the Griffons coming even closer, hot on our tails, none of them batted an eye at the escaping ponies. They were fast, even with all their equipment. Flashes came from their muskets and shots rained around me once again as another volley came from behind.

I turned back to the lone group as they seemed even further off now, but something was wrong, I could feel it. As if the world was dictated by my thoughts, the group that had left us was immediately gunned down by a storm of shots that came from the ridge that surrounded half our town. They came fast, and loud, the bullets rained like hail, turning the group to corpses as blood spewed high into the sky. It was a horrific, impossible, no griffon or pony could shoot that fast, there had to have been a hundred soldiers on that ridge. But when I followed the shots trail, they didn’t come from hundreds of Griffons, it came from a single source.

“Oh my god!” Came a pony next to me, for he had seen the massacre too, he then turned his head forward and screamed at the Corporal, “I thought you said they were going to be spared!” He was more than angry, he was livid, maybe he knew some pony. The Corporal turned and watched the last of the bodies fall as the intense gunfire stopped.

“I had no idea they had a weapon like that before now! I have no Idea what that is!” He yelled back just before another volley of shots rang out from the unicorns. I looked onto the ridge, and their I saw it, the mystery machine that killed all those ponies in a matter of seconds. It was gold, it had multiple barrels and and two big wheels underneath it, a crank on the back held by a single Griffon.

“It’s some kind of auto-musket!” I heard one of the guards yell. Auto, musket. Sounded horrifyingly accurate to what I had just witnessed.

“Everypony make for the dried river bed!” I heard the sound of Morion in front of me, I looked past the group, and there beyond us a little ways was a dip in the ground, a long wide trench that snaked along the desert. It was our only hope, I assumed he thought if we grabbed cover, we could make our stand. This was our only option, the Griffons were assumed to be using different tactics than before, killing with extreme prejudice, and they only way out, was to kill them before they killed us. No surrender.

A solution that was stacked against us, one million to one. This was it.

I jumped as hard as I could forward, tumbling into the dried river, the world spinning around me, as the guards held our retreat firing off as many shots as they could. They created a firing line above me and the others, they aimed to the night sky, shooting as many griffons as they could and there I lay on my back dazed, scared, useless. I watched the guards reload like clockwork, shooting, reloading, aiming, repeating for what seemed like forever. The Griffons were pushing us to the limit trying to break our spirits. But, I felt something different.

Something inside me was changing, I had before watched in horror as ponies and griffons fell, terrified that I would be next. I felt weak, I felt as if I was paper thin. But as time went on, my anger swelled. My mind began to shift, I got up and peeked over the ridge, my body was telling me to stay down, but I didn’t. I convinced myself that I wanted to watch.

Each shot that went towards the advancing forces felt like it carried our lives, our hopes and dreams.The more times they fired back, the more fumed I became. The more times we returned fire, the more invested I became. And only after a few minutes looking over the top, I found myself spotting for the guards. I spoke out, telling the guards where griffons were. First I only spoke in simple phrases like, “over there,” and “above you!” But soon, I began giving locations in greater detail after picked up certain phrases and codes from listening to the guards.

And at that moment, something inside of me snapped, like the universe had just exploded around me. My mind became clear, I had no more fear, no more doubt. My mind spoke one sentence, loud and clear, as if it was an echo stuck on repeat,

“It’s kill, or be killed,” The words were drilled into me, harder than any bullet fired, harder than any knife lunged. I thought for longest time that I could never take the life of another, but now, after I had lost everything, my home, my family, my life. I was going to make them pay. I wasn’t angry anymore, I wanted revenge. Not just for Faith, and that ponies who lived in it, and the ponies that protected it, but for mom, and dad.

A lone griffon soldier had gotten a bit close, I saw him out of the top of my eye rise higher than the others, aiming down to a guard that was next to me. I shouted as loud as I could before both of them shot.

“Griffon! Twelve o'clock high!” The guard quickly looked up and fired off his shot, the smoke and flash hurled the round over us as the griffons neck ripped and exploded. A sharp cry escaped his mouth as his wings stopped fluttering. His body fell from the sky limp and slammed into the ground next to me. His eyes, bloodshot, his beak agape, his neck was exposed and slowly leaked fresh thick red blood, and feathers fell from the sky and landed around him. He was definitely dead, he wasn’t getting up from that, the guard next to me reloaded and sent another round.

“Hey! You saved my flank, I owe you one now, thanks kid!” I heard him say. It felt good, I felt good knowing that I had just saved that guards life, I faced the fact that by the end of the night, he may not be here, but glancing at the dead griffons musket, made me believe I could change that. I pulled the dead body into the river with my magic, and rummaged through his armor, and clothing. I pulled off a box shaped carry bag, a little flask that held the black powder I saw the ponies filling the little pans with to reload the musket with, and the weapon he was using. It was a standard looking musket, but instead of one barrel, it had three, and look as if they rotated.

Not like the auto musket, but just like it at the same time. A little switch was located below where the barrels connected to the trigger part. I curiously pushed it in and moved the barrels around a bit. Suddenly the barrels turned, and the tube next to the one that was lined up before, snapped into place where the first one once was. Now I understood, I could load three shots, and only need to load the pan for a short period of time. So that's exactly what I did.I threw the bag over my shoulders and hung the flash from my neck as I came back up to the ridge, holding the musket to my eye, just like the guards. I held the Musket level with my right eye and looked down the sights. I guessed that the little peg at the end was supposed to match the ones at the rear, so I picked a griffon and waited for him to come close. I waited and waited, and watched as others fell from the sky, I heard the bullets ripping past me, causing me to flinch, but not move from my position. I knew the risks, but they meant nothing know. Suddenly a Griffon dove from the sky and landed on the ground.

“Him,” I said out loud to myself. I adjusted the weapon as he raised his to me. As soon as my sights were level I closed my eyes and pulled the trigger. Everything went silent and my head felt like it was just pushed into a vice. I defended myself. I opened my eyes, and dropped the rifle. I shook my head, and tried to get the ringing to stop, I felt the battle around me even though I couldn’t hear it right. I looked up to see where my shot hit, and to my surprise it hit.

For where that griffon stood was now a body on the ground, with a rather large chunk missing from his head. Though it could had been somepony else who killed him, it still felt like I did it. Soon the silence of the battle didn’t matter to me, I picked up the musket again, twisted the second barrel into place, topped off the powder, and found another target, a griffon soldier that was flying a little too close to me.

This time I didn't close my eyes, I watched him come in and close as my sights shifted to his head, and when I thought was a good time, I pulled the trigger a second time. I watched with satisfaction as the shot went up and connected with the rear of his skull, fracturing his head. That time I knew it was my kill. It wasn't long before I was reloading and shooting just like the guards, bullet after bullet went down range, each one hitting their target, some hitting in places that I didn’t like, and others hitting right where I wanted them to.

I felt like someone was watching me, I turned and looked at the guard next to me, he was watching me as I fired off another round hitting a soldier in the right shoulder, he screamed out in pain just before a second shot hit him square in the middle of his eyes.

“Hey kid! What’s your name?” The guard said taking another shot towards the advancing griffons. Did he really just ask my name? Right now?

“Azalea!” I shouted back while ramming a ball home with the rod.

“You’re one hell of a shot Azalea! I’d be proud to have you in my squad!” He shouted back after he took another shot, “Did you ever consider joining the guard before now?”

I couldn’t see myself being a guardsman, mostly because my mom wouldn't allow, but maybe if things were different, I may have joined.

“Yeah maybe, if things were different!” I shouted back, twisting a barrel into place.

3:12am…

It’s been almost an hour since the first shots were fired. I’ve made good friends with the soldier next to me. He damn near makes me laugh, though were shot at, he holds his ground and cracks jokes. It’s as if, this whole thing is a game to him, he’s laughs at the griffons, he laughs at himself, and even me sometimes. But it’s fine, cause I sometimes find myself laughing too. It was whole different world in this trench, and he brought it to me. In the short time we were here, he taught me military lingo, and how to shoot like a real soldier. And most importantly, he taught me how to laugh at death. Because in the past hour, we’ve lost, many. To many. I watched them each one of them fall guard, and civilian. It was horrifying one second they’re there, the next there not. I didn’t know them that well, but, after being in this trench I came to know them, in a, professional relationship.

I shoot griffons, I save them, they shoot griffons, they save me. It was as simple was that. And when one fell, another battle capable pony would take their place, no time to mourn, not time to bury the dead. It was a shame, but, we needed to live. I just needed to except that.

The griffons have changed their tactics, they’re no longer charging at us. Instead they’ve dug their own trench on the other side of the river across from us. It took them a little while but now their dug in, and we had to retreat into the river.

So here we sit, taking shots at small groups of advancing griffons that walk, instead of fly. The come out of their trench a few at a time, each time trying to catch us off guard. But, we catch them each time. We’ve made a, killzone, a dead land I guess. If somepony peaks their head up, a round comes and snaps near it, or connects with it, killing them almost instantly. So again, here I sit, among tired soldiers, dwindling supplies, a smoke screened atmosphere from the muskets, and dead bodies. I look to the left and I see my trench-mate who is loading his musket, beyond him are civilians, and guards, some of which peak over the trench, or sit together in little bundles. The battlefield was quiet for some time now, it was strange, my ears had time to relax, and my heart rate had time to slow down.

But the silence didn’t last long. A loud explosion cut the air as everypony's head picked up and looked through the air, for all we heard was whistling.

“INCOMING!” Yelled a guard as he stood up frantically from the ground. Suddenly the farthest part of our entrenchment was engulfed in flames as the whole world shook violently with a massive explosion. They were bombing us again, they stopped advancing because they didn’t want their troops caught in the crossfire. Then another bomb hit, this time it was a bit closer to me. I could feel the heat, the fire, I felt the shock wave, it pounded through me. This was it. No way out.

“Get behind me! Hurry up!” I heard the soldier next to me, my "squad mate." What was he doing, did really matter how we die?

“What are you doing, what do you mean?” I yelled. He turned back as another artillery round fired off in the distance. He shook his head.

“You’re not dying today, get behind me!” I heard the whistle, it was coming closer, there was no time left. I jumped behind him just as the fire bomb came and exploded in front of us.

Then it all went black. All went silent.

I couldn’t feel anything anymore, I couldn’t hear anything, and I definitely couldn’t see. It felt as if I had died, maybe I did die. I couldn’t move my legs, or my fore hoofs, was this it? My ears were ringing as if to deafen me, and my body didn’t respond to any commands.

But after a while my ears began to quiet, and my eyes began to flutter open. Then my senses came back slowly. My body hurt, all over, the pain was immense, I couldn’t bare it. It was concentrated in my legs, and my chest, they felt wet. But even though my body burned, everything felt cold at the same time, as if my life was being drained. I was bleeding, badly, I just knew it.

My eyes opened slowly, and what stood before destroyed all form of hope. For what stood in place of the soldier that tried to protect me, was a griffon soldier, his wings extended, and musket in claw. His once flashy uniform, was now looking dull and grey now after battle and after blood has stained it. His beak drawn up in a sickening smile as he looked around on his hind legs. I tried to move, I tried to run, but all I could do was shift around, and struggle against my dying body. I screamed at myself to get up, but I wouldn’t listen. But I must have been making a damn good effort to move, because the griffon looked down at me, still smiling his disgusting grin.

He raised his weapon to me. Then through the haze I heard him say something,

“Time to finish the King's work,” I heard his weapon cock, sealing my fate. This was it, I had failed. There was nothing more I could do, I didn’t save Faith, I didn’t kill all the griffons, and I let my mother down. I couldn't even repay that soldier for saving me.

But something stopped him from shooting, his body went limp and his rifle fell from his claws. His head jutted forward as a small hole exploded from his right eye. I didn’t even hear a shot being fired. But as he fell I saw what was behind him, dozens and dozens of now confused looking griffon soldiers. They all looked around with their weapons raised to kill. Then slowly, each one began to fall. The air began to snap as the bullets whizzed over me. But soon, a storm of lead came tearing down into the river, tearing each soldier to shreds, like nothing. Then I saw it, far off in the distance just bellow the Red Rock Mountains. White flashes each one coming from a different source, but all firing automatically. At that moment my vision began to fade again, turning back to darkness.

Time seemed to slip as I heard the firing stop as hoof steps were heard afterwards. Through the darkness I heard voices, they sounded metallic, and muffled.

"Area Secure sir, sweeping area for HVT now, over," A voice came.

“This one's dead,” They echoed around me. They got closer, a jumble of voices all communicating with each other until one stopped in front of me. A short silence came, then the figure spoke.

“Radio the Lt. We found the HVT, also get me a field medic, she’s got multiple lacerations to her chest and legs. She’ll bleed out soon, get him ASAP move, move!” It was a males voice, With my remaining strength, I tried my hardest to open my eyes again, and was rewarded me with a few seconds of fuzzy vision.

And when my eyes focused, there he was again, clad in green clothes, and woodland armor. His saddle rig held the same device I saw from the Scrapyard. I had now concluded that it was some kind of black metallic rifle. He wore a full mask, it was grey and looked like it was made out of some kind of plastic cloth. It had filters with tubes that were attached to a tank on his chest, and his eyes were hidden by plastic covers. But before my vision left me again, he looked down, his eyes glowing green and bright, staring into me. The words of the Regendi came back one more time before I lost all feeling, and slipped away.

“His green eyes the last thing they witness in this life,”

Author's Note

Chapter Seven: Desperation

3/24/2058

South Palomino Desert, Outside Faith…

3:58am…

My head, my body, everything hurt. It was as if my insides were on fire burning a hole in itself, but the worst was my chest. It burned like it was being stabbed by searing hot metal pole after resting on a pile of lit coals. Everything was dark, not because I hadn't opened my eyes, but because somepony had blindfolded me, my legs were held together by metal shackles and to my dismay I found that they were bolted into the ground, for when I tugged on them, no sign of resistance was shown. Though most of my senses were taken from me, I could still tell that I was outside, I felt the winding moving around me, I heard crickets, and the buzzing of flies. I could feel the cool air on my fur, it felt almost heavenly after what I had experienced back at the river. Everything felt quiet now like the world was devoid of noise, devoid of pony life, I guess the battle had drained me of my reality. But wherever I was I needed to get out, and get back to Faith to see if mother made it out alright.

I tried to move, I lifted my legs and I arched my back, my body protested my actions but my eager mind pushed me on. I tried to move, but only then had I come to find out, my fore hoofs were also bound. They were roped together unable to move, I was stuck lying on the ground, helpless. I started to panic, the only thing I could do that at the moment felt right. I flailed as hard as I could, I tried my hardest to get free, but nothing I did helped at all. I tried to scream, but I then I realised my mouth had a cloth wrapped around it, tied around the back of my head.

I couldn’t scream, I could see, I couldn’t move, everything around me was a mystery, my location unknown, and I had no clue who held me captive. And the only thing I could do was mumble, flail around my bound body, and cry out for nopony to hear. But through my movement and sobs, I heard something, it was distant at first but soon, it became louder. The sound of grinding steel on rock. The sound of somepony sharpening a knife, and by the way he or she was sharpening it, a very long knife. I didn’t like it at all, I needed to get out, and needed out now. My shackles rattled as the ground around me thumped with my movement.

And just like that the foreign sound stopped. It was then replaced with a quick snapping sound and the loud clicking of mechanical parts. Once the clicking stopped, I heard hoofsteps, they were coming towards me, they felt heavy, the pony that approached sounded as if he wore metal armor for it clunked and shifted and grinded against itself as the pony grew closer.

A wave of fright overtook my body, I stopped moving as my muscles tense up, my heart pounding faster and faster with each step the pony took. My breathing becoming shorter and shorter by the second. Just before me, the individual stopped walking. I tried to turn my head to get a better view of the stranger before me, but all I saw was darkness.

“So, you’ve woken up, excellent,” His voice broke the silence as I turned to where I thought stallion stood, his voice was as rough as sandpaper and it was bitter and deep. From where it came from, I could tell he was tall, taller than I had expected. Maybe it was because I was on the floor, and he was standing up right, but even then, he seemed taller than most stallions.

“I want you to listen very carefully, because failure to retain the information I will bestow upon you, may result in your expiration. Your next actions will determine the relationship between you and me. Also be advised, following my instructions is a much better alternative to death, you have my humble word. But if you choose death above life, I will be very displeased,” He spoke once again. It felt as if his words could kill me, like at any moment he could snap, lash out and tear my throat out. I was all ears, I cleared my mind of any other thoughts, and stood extra still. The only thing that remained was the pony that stood before me, and the words that would keep me from my death.

“I am going to relinquish you from your bondings and when I do so, you are to face front and walk out of the tent you currently reside in. Once you do that, sit down next to the fire,” I began to nod in agreement. He began to walk slowly, passing me on my left side, his heavy hoof falls stopping next to my head. It then felt as if he had leaned into me, his breath was on my neck. I could feel him their, inches from my head. I began to shake out of fear. I had no idea of his intentions. He then spoke, this time quiter.

“And, if you even think about running, or grabbing any weapons to aid in your escape, I’ll introduce you to my twelve inch reinforced steel friend somepony I'm sure you will not like in the slightest. And trust me, he can definitely run a lot faster than you can,” I quickly nodded as he moved behind me. I wasn’t about to test if he was bluffing or not, so I played along as well as I could.

I heard the clanking of chains as the hoof clamps came undone, I didn’t move. I waited for the sound of his voice, my next set of instructions, my only lifeline at this point. My heart rate slowly increasing by the second, as sweat fell from my forehead. Soon, the stallion made his way to the front of me and began fiddling with the rope bondings. Soon my hoofs felt the release of tight bondings the tightness slowly fading away. It felt much better to say the least. Then came the blindfold.

The pony made his way around to the back of me, and in an instant, the darkness fell away.

Light, a sense of freedom had returned to me once again, it was a relief, yet I was still trapped with this Stallion. My life rests in the ponies hoofs, a pony I haven’t even seen yet, and don’t trust at all. But from what I could see, which wasn't much, made me feel alot better. The walls of a tent were made out of a tanish cloth like material held up by wooden stilts. A sleeping mat rested towards the front, farther away from me, and out the entrance a roaring fire burned away surrounded by small red rocks.

“Move forward slowly, no sudden movements,” Came the stallion behind me. I stood up, slowly and steadily as best I could, my body aching and protesting, but I carried myself on. I slowly wandered outside the tent making my way to the fire. The heat, though my body was burning inside out, felt cozy in a way. It felt welcoming, inviting, for once. I saw a log a few meters in front of it, it had been sunken into the ground, as if acting as a makeshift seat.

“Sit down, now,” He said behind me, as if breathing down my neck with murderous intent. So, trying my hardest, I quickly took a seat, the bandages rustling along as I took a more formal resting stance. I then heard his footsteps walk off to the left of me. His presence finally easing up. But relaxing as it was, I wanted to see him, I wanted to see his face, my captor had hid it until now. So I looked slowly to the left, my eyes pushing against their sockets, forcing my head to move. And soon enough, there he was, walking along next to the fire, finding his own seat on another log to the left of me.

Everything I thought about him, was true. He was a massive individual. He sported a dark and withered blue coat of fur with a thick black mane that crossed over his neck and fell down far bellow his dark orange eyes. He stood as tall as the fire raged, which was about over six feet tall. He was a hulking pony, his legs and fore hoofs covered in a steel plated armor, tied together by leather looking straps, His chest was also covered in this same type of armor effectively making him nearly bullet proof from the front. On his mid section he carried a heavily modified carrying saddle, it looked as if it could carry twice amount of supplies a normal one could. It looked worn and tired as if it had been on the road for a long time and had seen its fair share of dust storms. It was also colored differently, it had this dark green color to it. Olive green maybe? Whichever it didn’t matter. He sat down and pulled up a pencil from the left of him, and a thick book from his large saddle bag.

I watched as he vigorously flipped pages. A hundred he must flipped through before he found one he liked. And for the first time, his orange cold, dagger like eyes stared right into mine, they squinted and looked me over. And through the pencil in his mouth he spoke.

“So… What’s your name?”

Author's Note

Sorry about the wait, more chapter will becoming sooner than you think.

Chapter Eight: Eve of Destruction

3/24/2058

South Palomino Desert, Outside Faith…

4:12am…

“W-What?” I stammer for a response after the perfectly logical request. I'm not sure why I asked for a reason as to why he asked me my name, I guess I just wasn't expecting it.

“Your name, what’s your name?” He asked again, this time, his head shifted upwards and his orange eyes squinted and stared right into my eye sockets. It was as if he was burning a hole into my head, melting my mind into mush for him to then easily pull information out of. And unfortunately, it was working. If looks could kill, I wouldn’t even exist at this point. He wanted answers, and god help me if I didn’t answer

“Azalea, Azalea Gaura,” I spoke back, a stutter staining the passing sentence. He didn’t even look away when his pencil started to move around on the page, his upper and lower jaw, working it quickly.

“Mhmm,” He nodded, still staring at me, “How old are you?”

“18,” I blurted out without a second thought in mind. The sooner this is over, the sooner he tells me why he’s here, and why I’m alive, I hope. Slowly his left eyebrow raised, changing the scowl on his face,

“A little short to be 18 years old, but I suppose it's possible,” He continued to write on the page.

“And, that town down there… What is its name?” He asked nodding down and over his left shoulder. I couldn’t see what he was motioning toward, but I assumed he meant Faith.

“Faith, the town's name is Faith,”

“Is that so?” He asked his eyebrow slowly lowering back to rest above his eyes. I nodded timidly. He shook his head slowly as he began to look me over, then he quickly glanced back at his notepad, his nose scrunching up as he whittled away at the paper. He was eyeing me up, those Garnet like eyes looking me over once and awhile before shifting back to the page. A bead of sweat trickled down my forehead, maybe due to the stress of the situation, but I made myself believe it was because of the fire, and not my hulking captor, eyeing me up for, only god knows why.

“So tell me Azalea, did you live alone in Faith, or did you live with somepony?” He finally spoke, his gravely voice cutting the crackling of the roaring fire. I shook my head.

“No, I lived with my mother and father, but mostly my mom, my father, he left us when I was really young,” I wasn't sure why I was opening up to him like this, part of me told me to run away as fast as I could, but every time his eyes stared into mine, it shut that part out almost instantly. It wasn't that I thought of him romantically, but I knew if I ran, if I turned tail and left my seat, I'd be dead before I left the light of the fire.

“Well, I'm sorry to hear about your father, but your mother, can you please describe what she looks like please?” He asked the pencil stopping on the page. Without hesitation I spoke.

“She had a dark blue mane, a greyish white coat, and light purple eyes. And she’s just slightly taller than me.” The stallion's eyes squinted after I ceased talking. His eyes darted left to right quickly, then a quick few quick nods came to him, as if he remembered something, then in between the pencil a small grin came.

“Right then… Thank you…” He said as his pencil stopped moving around on the page. He leaned down to his left side and he laid the pencil down slowly onto the log, moving it with his hoof, making it parallel to him. He then with a steady hoof, laid the book on the ground and slid it over towards me. The page he had been writing on had some how managed to stay open despite the winds acting against it. Once the book slid in front of me I look down at it, my chest aching a bit as I leaned down to view it.

In perfect hoof writing was my name, age, place of birth, and family members listed off on the paper, with a lines space in between each category. And below it all was the sketch of a pony. It was a rough outline, yet, it seemed so detailed, every hair in place her face neatly squared up with her shoulders, the proportions were on point. And it only took me about a few seconds to realize, that pony he drew, was me.

Of course it being but a sketch, it lacked my tan coat, my dirty blonde hair, and my light blue eyes. Yet even though it was black and white, I could feel the colors in it’s structure. He even got the beginning of my chest wrappings, just before the bottom of the page cut him off.

Needless to say I was quite impressed. He didn’t seem like the artistic type.

“Do you think anything needs to be changed,” He spoke, his voice felt as if it was right in my ear. I turned to my right, and there he stood, his muzzle just creeping over my shoulder as his inquisitive eyes looked down at the page. They then shifted up to meet my gaze, an eyebrow cocking upwards. I shook my head no, then a slight grin appeared on his face as he moved around me and slid the book back over to where he was sitting, the book closing as it reached the log. Slowly he turned and trotted back to his seat, but as he moved he spoke.

“Miss Guara, let me be the first to tell you how lucky you are to be alive right now,” His head turned back towards me as he snaked around the fire, “You are quite literally an anomaly, by every means of the definition,” He finally reached the log, he stood atop of it before sitting down quite properly like, his back straightened upwards, his hoofs in front of him.

“I don't understand, what do you mean?” I asked as I watched him tie an elastic band around the book and push it off to the side of his right hoof.

“I mean, you are one of the luckiest ponies in Equestria right now, hell, maybe even the world. And for you to be sitting here in front of me, in the state that you're in, I might as well count my lucky stars because I’m sure I just ran out of them,” He said shaking his head, not in disappointment, but in disbelief, a smile creeping back onto his face. I looked down at the bandages wrapped around my chest and fore hoofs, my body still aching and sore from the battle.

“Well, when I meant your current state, what I meant to say, you're not dead, unlike those, poor, unfortunate ponies they now lie in droves in that ditch, that I had to step over to get to you,” His ears slowly droop downwards. His eyes, they don’t stare at me anymore, instead they stare into the fire, he watched the flames dance around in the night sky, and I watched him as he spoke,

“I can’t stress this enough, I am sorry for what happened to you and your town, the Griffons are known for their brutality when it comes to stomping those type of encampments. That Freedom Town was probably the only place you knew out here, and now,” He stopped, for a long pause his eyes the moved away from the fire and to the ground,

“It’s gone… and nothing I can say will ever bring those ponies back,” His words cut me deep. I wasn’t sure if he was trying to make me feel better, or shot me down even more. But alls I could think about was leaving mother behind in our hut, the look of her face before I turned my back on her, the tears in her eyes. That final snapshot of what was, now burned into my mind.

I could feel tears of my own forming in my eyes, my eyelids heavy, my lips quivering. My head fell forward as the tears fell from my eyes, they moved slowly down my face, then hitting the ground, making small craters in the sand. The world around me seemed thick and dense, at any moment I could sink into the ground and be swallowed by the sand, killing me too.

“But…” His words cut the tears from my eyes, the air around me opened up again. I turned up wards to see him face to face again.

“I do have information about your mother, she is alive, but she’s being held by the Griffons and is on her way to being processed,” My eyes widened, the tears fell away, everything came flooding back, I nearly jumped from my seat.

“W-wait, what?!” I said with utmost urgency, “How could you know that? That's impossible! You’re… You’re lying!” The world's flew from my mouth, I knew he was lying, he was trying to soften me up turn me into his little play thing. How dare he say such things! But even now that my voice had raised and I felt as if I could easily strangle him to death, he still just stared at me, he seemed unfazed at my outburst, his eyes didn’t even move, he still kept his gaze, his permanent scowling gaze.

“Trust me, I saw her, the way you described her while I was sketching you matches the description of one of the four ponies that the griffons held at gunpoint, escorting out of the town, back over the hills into the desert sands,” He continued to stare me down, his sleek physique and proper sitting stance still very much prominent in the way he spoke.

“I’ve lived out here in the sand for a very long time, I’ve seen these kinds of towns fall before, the buildings razed to the ground, ponies bled dry from musket fire, left dieing in the streets, foals crying over there parents dead bodies, only to be dragged away from them by the claws of those, monsters. And who are the Griffons responsible for committing these acts against you, and these towns?” There was a slight pause as if he thought I knew the answer, a cool breeze moving past the two of us, just before he spoke again.

“A small detachment of Griffon soldiers, called Marauder Company. They are responsible for destroying small encampments of free Equestrian citizens, wherever they may appear. And, it would seem, that if they found yours, there hunting around the surrounding hills searching for more Freedom Towns, killing or capturing as many Ponies, or Griffon defectors, they can get their grubby, yellow claws on…” He looked over towards the fire again.

“Which, i’f you didn’t catch my drift… Does not bode well, for and me, specially if we work alone,” He stopped speaking for a moment, more wind passed between us. The fire still crackling away.

“So, given the circumstances, and our current predicament, I’m going to make you an offer,” Suddenly his head fell to the right of him, the sound of rusling could be heard, then his head came back a bit faster, an object he now held in his mouth, came flying over towards me. The thing he tossed to me made a loud thud in the ground, the sand a dirt, being being out of its way. He then spoke,

“Work for me, and I will get your parents back, refuse… and you’ll die alone… in the desert,”