Birds. Their little chirping noises fill the blank space of my dreams, high pitched chirp-chirp-chirps.

A soft voice speaks quietly in the corner of my room, singing a beautiful song. I can't quite understand what the song is, or even the lyrics, partially because my instantaneous peak in interest at the voice singing the song is somebody I know.

I just can't put my finger on who it is.

My eyes flutter open to a tan colored ceiling, only for me to realize I'm in my room. Sitting up straight, I eagerly look about the room, but realize that the singing was not coming from my room as I originally suspected. Slowly, I get out of bed and look about the room for any clue as to where that beautiful singing might be coming from. Shooting a glance at the door to my room, I realize that it has been open all along.

I carefully pull my adorable white slippers over my feet, smiling childishly as I watch them squeak every step I take.

I look down the hall, to see a shadowy figure waiting for me. The singing abruptly stops, and is replaced with a low soft hum.

"Hey! Who are you?" I call down the hall.

The figure is black as night, shimmering and sparkling like the stars in the night sky. It quickly turns, and darts away.

Confused, I begin to follow.

My eyes traverse across the wall, looking at each family photo with a smile, despite the unusual circumstances. I stop at one picture, and my smile falters slightly.

My cousin, only two months of being 10 years old. Cake coats her face like a mask.

I close my eyes, and try to think about where she might be now.

I probably shouldn't.

I continue down the hall, not stopping to look at anymore pictures. Not Apollyon, not Violet, not my parents. Never again.

I move down the stairway at the end of the hall with ease, and look around for the shadowy presence. Nowhere to be found...

Turning around to go back to my bed, I find myself face to face with the figure. The darkest of dark green eyes shine into mine, boring into mine like ants. It has the figure of a pony, it's smile soft but deadly.

Heart pounding, I watch as it's mouth opens, and stops, as if to think of what it must tell me.

"Fascinating."

I awake with a start, eyes wide, panting. I look around my tent, hoping, just hoping, that my beloved sister or brother will be there to comfort me.

They aren't.

I rub my eyes and let out a deep breath. Deep breaths, in. Out.

The tent is still dark and chilly. A little tiny sliver of light shines on the floor, barely enough to illuminate a corner of my tent.

And then I hear the birds. The damn birds. Stupid, dirty birds. Just like in my book, The 5th Wave. They're all screeching in the air, waking everyone up. What a bunch of cocks.

I stand up to stretch, and nearly fall down as my breath is jolted away from me by my sudden movements.

Another yawn fills my tent, and I actually do fall down.

"Who's in here?"

For a second, it's dead silent.

"Oh, you're awake now. Good!" Maxie's enthusiastic voice calls back.

I don't know what to say. Maxie was in my tent, with me, AND SLEPT IN HERE.

"WHAT THE HELL!?! GET OUT!!!" I screech.

"Sh, sh! Dixon's still asleep. I hate waking him up, he isn't the nicest person in the morning." She pleads, suddenly wide awake. "And If you wake him up, you are in for some bad news."

"What? What in the hell are you doing in my tent?!?"

"I was going to wake you up for a little mission, but I guess I fell asleep. It isn't easy staying awake when you are running off of 2 hours of sleep from the previous day." She admits. She devilishly opens one eye to stare me down with a grin. She must think it's cute or something. It isn't.

I let in a deep breath. A deep, angry breath. Every minute I spend with this Griffon makes me more and more agitated.

"Fffffffffffffffffffine. What do you want?" I throw as little enthusiasm as I could at her.

Her ear tufts slowly fall as she lets out a sigh. The grin on her face is no longer present.

"Well, I know you might not like it, but we need to go to Colorado Springs to scavenge for some gasoline." She says slowly.

"Are you crazy? We will die if we go in there! Literally JUST last night I jumped off of a cliff to escape death, there is no way I'm risking my life for some gas." I try to regain my composure. "If I go back anywhere where there might even be a chance of a hunting party, I'm dead."

"Yeah, I should have figured you would say that..." She says quietly. "It's... It's fine, Chrysie, I'll just get the gas myself."

I look up at her, trying to decide what to do. If I go, then I'm risking my life for this... this... GRIFFON, whom I barely know, much less trust. But if I don't, then Dixon might get pretty mad. And he's literally my ticket to getting to Chicago safely.

"...Fine, Maxie. Fine. I'll go scavenge for gas, or whatever with you." I give in, tiredly rubbing my face to try to wake myself up for the horrible mess that's almost guaranteed to come.

"Wait, you're actually going to come? And help me?" She asks excitedly. Her feathers are all fluffed up still from waking up, and when she cocks her head, she almost looks innocent. Harmless, even. Too bad my eyes just so happen to like staring at her viciously sharp talons.

I avert my eyes, and let out a sigh.

"Your feathers are all over the place. You should go straighten them out or something. I have to do my hair anyways." I mumble, curling up into a ball and trying to get some more sleep in.

"Oh... Oh yeah, I guess I should make myself look presentable in case we have a run in with a hunting party. Meet me out here in maybe, 20 minutes or so? Chrysie?" Maxie twists her head to try to get a better view of my position. "You alright?"

I open an eyelid. "Yeah, I'm fantastic. I haven't felt this great in years."

"Really?" She asks, with a big, stupid grin on her face.

"Nah. I feel like crap. I just need like 5 more minutes of sleep." I mumble, rolling my eyes.

"Okay, Chrys. See ya in half an hour."

"Don't call me Chrys." I mutter, sitting up to watch her.

"Y- yeah... Sorry Chrysie." I feel a little bit like a dick for my outright rudeness, but I try ignore it and instead reach into my backpack for some clothes. Maxie unzips the zipper on the tent, and leaves quickly. I hang my head, my eyes searching my hands for... Something. The gauze wrapped around my hand didn't do a very good job of keeping the blood from leaking down my arm and into my armpit.

God, I'm a fucking wreck.

I'm wearing a dark blue hoodie, and carrying a double-barreled shotgun that Maxie says 'was' Dixons, when I step out of the tent. The mountain air is crisp, refreshing, and quiet.

So very quiet. It seems like most of the birds have gone off in search of food or something. Thank god.

"Hey, Chrysalis. I thought you might, uh, want to document some of this stuff..." Maxie slips out from behind a tree, making me nearly jump out of my skin.

"Ah! Jesus... Fuck. Ugh. God, you scared the SHIT out of me Maxie." I lean against a tree to catch my breath. I hold my hand over my right boob, trying to slow my heart rate. I think I almost had a heart attack.

"Sorry Chrysie..." She shoves a camcorder in my direction as lightly as she can, leaving a small dust trail, where the small camera lays waiting for me to retrieve.

"What's this for?" I ask, picking it up after recovering from the scare.

"Oh, uh, I was hoping that you would like to record some of the events that have taken place here while the Equus residents have a hold of Earth. You know, Frank West style." She attempts at a video-game reference. I roll my eyes, letting a smile show for the first time with her. My brother loved that game.

"Yeah, sure." I pocket it casually, trying to play it off as nothing too serious.

"O-kay... Sorry."

"For what?" I ask, a frown coming to my face.

"You know, calling you Chrys back in the tent, sleeping in your tent..." She says softly. "I mean, I know it's a guy name. Didn't want it to seem like, I dunno... I was making you out to be like one. You're as tough as one though, surviving all that." I notice a faint smile.

"Yeah. It's cool. Girl power anyways, am I right? I'm still trying to get over some things in the past with my family, who always called me Chrys, and the whole fact that you're a..." I stop, and try to find the right word for it. Maxie stops, and hangs her head, as I realize I said the wrong thing. "Sorry. I get it. Didn't mean to sound like a dick." I apologize. Nodding, she sighs.

My eyes shift to the floor as I try to think of something to break the ice.

"Hey, uh... That camcorder you gave me. Let's make a video. Right now, real quick." I suggest, rubbing my shoulder.

"A video? About what?" She asks, raising a brow.

"Well... I mean... We might die right now. Let's make a skit. Like, it doesn't have to be all thought out or anything. Just something to leave behind when we finally end up running out on luck and kicking the bucket." I look to her for her approval.

"Sure! Yeah, that sounds like fun!" She hops over excitedly, to get a better look at the camera.

"Alright, so... Any ideas?" I ask, racking my brain for anything we can do for the video.

"Hmm... Maybe we can like... I dunno... Maybe we could make a song or something?" She suggests. "No, that's dumb..."

"No, no." I assure her. "That's actually not a bad idea. Let's make this quick though." I add.

"Really?" She asks. "Well... I don't know what to sing about, haha..." She fidgets in place nervously, chuckling.

"Well... If we die, the palace will probably find the video on my dead body. So let's freestyle about how they can like, kick rocks or whatever." I laugh.

"Not a bad idea."

So we came up with a song right then and there. My favorite lyric that she had was "In the face of danger we won't fall; We've got hearts of steel, yeah, we're shooting stars~". She's actually pretty good at coming up with lyrics to songs, and her voice is really pretty. My lyrics weren't very impressive, but she was very kind and mindful of how I sang and what I sang.

"Ya'll got power and force, that's cool and all;
But we've got dicks of pure determination that will rub you raw." I chuckle out.

"I'm impressed." Maxie sighs, obviously not.

The trees envelope us into a tight position, as me and her move down a hill cautiously. She keeps her head straight and alert, but she still has her cheerful sway as she sidles down the hill.

"So, what's the plan?" I ask.

"Okay, so I'm going to act as a scout to make sure you can siphon some gas from some cars as we move along the hot springs to the east. If anybody, ahem, AnyPONY, comes I'll try to stall them and tell them I've already cleared out the area." She explains.

"Hey, I got a question. Why do you guys all say anypony? Like, how is it different than anybody?" I ask. Maxie thinks for a moment, before nodding.

"I think they just like being able to say anypony because it gives them some sense of, I dunno... Fulfillment?" She suggests.

"I don't know, that's why I asked you." I mumble.

She shakes her head with a sigh, before gliding smoothly down the rest of the hill, leaving me to catch up.

Eventually, we reach Colorado Springs after about 20 minutes of walking. Unfortunately, as soon as we get there we're already in threat of getting caught.

"Quick, get down!" Maxie whispers. I drop down behind a semi-large rock in confusion. Not too long after, another Griffon swoops down in front of her.

"Hey, you! You aren't on Palace patrol. Believe me, I would know. I'm in the middle of the mission, and the goal at the moment is to find a human. You haven't happened to see one, have you soldier?" Maxie shakes her head no, before standing a little taller and floofing her feathers to make her self seem bigger and to confront the new arrival.

"No. Actually, I've come on order from Ember, who needed a messenger to deliver a statement to our dearest royal sisters, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna." She reports.

I stick my tongue out in disdain to hear those two wretched names. That Alicorn named Luna. She wore black armour over everything. She's like, the equivalent of the emo kid in high school. Lame.

"Very well, soldier. I will need your name, and your current rank in the dragon barracks. And, of course... Ahem. Your paperwork." The other griffon demands.

"Royal Messenger Maxie, Lieutenant delivery unit." She replies. I lift an eyebrow, as the information that was exchanged sounded very authentic. Maxie must be a really smooth liar.

Maxie reaches into a saddlebag strapped to her side, and pulls out a parchment of paper.

"Uh-huh. Alright, Lieutenant Maxie. It seems that you are an even higher rank than even I, despite the circumstance. So, I must ask in your assistance with this patrol by asking Dragon Lord Ember for her to spare a few of her Hybrids." Maxie flinches a tiny bit, but nods.

"Yes, I suppose that could be arranged. Please fill out the paperwork for me when I arrive at the castle. At the moment I need a safe flying route through town, without too many of your units in the way. I can't be stopped by every single one of them, as this is very important information that needs to be delivered ASAP." Maxie explains.

"Right you are, ma'am. The quickest way in and out would be through the downtown district, but you only have about an hour to get back out to relay Celestia and Luna's response in case they can't get the other messenger to do it for them." The griffin says. "This entire district is about to be shut down, and I'd recommend you to get out of here before that happens."

"Many thanks."

"Of course." The other griffon flies back to it's group, and Maxie lets out a sigh of relief.

"That went even better than expected!" She giggles, and pulls me up with a talon. I'm hesitant for a moment, but I accept the offer.

"Yeah." I mutter, confusedly pondering how that was so easy for her. Where'd she get those papers? "Hey, uh... How did you do that? With the papers, and stuff?" I ask.

Maxie turns to me with a devilish smile, grinning widely.

"Well, when you first become a hybrid, usually they give you a reason as to why you should help them. The drugs they used on me to make me actually buy into some of their lies didn't work, and I received my papers stating I AM indeed a brainwashed hybrid. I forged a couple of things here and there and BOOM! I am now Lieutenant Messenger Maxie!" She laughs loudly, obviously forgetting the fact that we're on a mission.

"Maxie! Sh! We can't get caught now!" I hush her, putting my pointer finger to her beak.

"Oh yeah... Sorry." She smiles, blushing. "We should get going. We need that fuel." Nodding, I follow her towards some cars in a lot a few thousand feet away. My mind then wonders if I ever saw a car at the camp. I decide to ask anyways to make sure I did miss it, and that I'm not risking this all for nothing.

"Hey, uh... I didn't see a car back at the camp... Um, we are getting to Chicago in a car, right?"

"You didn't see the car? It's parked a couple of yards away from your tent!' Maxie exclaims, baffled.

"Oh, uh, I guess not." I shrug it off, trying to stay focused on the extremely dangerous mission at hand. As I watch Maxie's tail swish to and fro, I can't help but think of what happened not even a week ago...

My brother and sister were dragging me through a wheat field as fast as they could, as we tried to outrun a clan of Griffons. We knew we were not going to make it out of there. I was sick. Apollyon was tired. Violet was beyond tired. One griffin grabbed Violet, dragged her away by her hair. Apollyon tried to pummel one to death with his empty M16, but received a slash to the face, with blood instantly pooling at his laceration.

And me. Crawling so desperately away, like a frightened animal. I was going to die.

But the Griffons ignored me. They must have thought I was a goner for sure. I would have been too, if it wasn't for the fact that I woke up to a bag of supplies and medicine.

Look at me now. Alive and well.

But not my siblings. I can only wish that they escaped by some miracle of God.

I mean, I did. Why couldn't they?

Shaking it off, I jog to catch up with Maxie.

"Hey... Look, I'm really, really sorry about being such a jerk today. It's been a long time since I've been able to trust a stranger, and frankly, you didn't look very friendly at first glance." I explain, hoping I didn't hurt her feelings.

"Oh. Yeah... I don't blame you. When I saw myself for the first time, trapped inside of... Of this... I felt like a monster. But yeah, I really appreciate you for understanding." Maxie smiles, before turning her head back to the front. "Look. A 7-11." She points a talon directly at the fuel station, which is eerily silent.

"That is creepy as hell." I narrow my eyes at a bush, which is rustling way to fast for it to be the wind. "Maxie, wait. Look there, in the bush."

Maxie squints, before nodding. Suddenly, two adults, both male, slip out of the bush toting sawed off shotguns in both hands, observing the area.

They slowly proceed down the street, checking their six all the while, before running down the street at full speed to another building.

"Weird..." I mutter, before slipping out of my own bush. Maxie follows.

"Okay, grab the gas. I'll make sure nobody gets you while you start the fuel pumps." Maxie announces, before flying away to a building's rooftop not far from the diesel station.

"Okay... Let's do this Chrysie. Press the button, get the fuel. Easy." I mutter to myself.

When I get to the concrete of the road, I instinctively look both ways before crossing. Eh. Better safe than sorry. Opening the Convenience store door, a little bell goes ding, and a couple of lights flicker on and off. The sound of something scampering on the tile startles me. I pull out my flashlight and shine it around the room, searching for the culprit. My light suddenly finds the fella.

A mouse. Just a mouse. Sighing in relief, I press the button behind the register, and step outside to get the gas.

Whew. Nothing interesting happening here, just getting some gas.

Relieved, I fill up a gas canister only some odd three feet away from the pump, call Maxie down from her perch, and chat with her all the way back to camp.

That was easy. All I need is one of those buttons that literally say "that was easy" everytime you press it. That would be used once in a blue moon.

Maybe me and Maxie might be friends. I hope she doesn't end up being a traitor because... Well...

I think I'm actually starting to like her.

Author's Note

Pre-Reader Acknowledgement;
N/A

I fixed this shit on my own, so lemme know about any grammatical errors so I can fix it for my Grammar Nazis out there

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