Chapters An icy breeze rattled the trees outside, as the leaves reciprocated with violent shudders and shivers. The divine alicorn's mane spilled out into a long flowing pool, shifting and moving with the wind- the cool air still exceptionally uninviting. Despite the infinite gusts of wind pulling at the divine beast's mane ferociously, she looked rather calm and collected. She focused on the moon as it traveled past a group of dark grey clouds that loomed over her, and with a warm smile she gazed ever farther. She closed them, inhaling deeply as the cool autumn wind ran up her nose, the scent of roasted pumpkin seeds wafting up from one of her subect's chimneys. Yes, it was a calm night.
The Alicorn, Celestia, often watched the forest from her balcony to observe her best warriors do what they did best- fight. They're exceptional at what they do, and are quite capable; despite this, the divine presence prefers pacifism over domination.
There was one thing that stood in the way of her and peace, however. The creatures her people had been subject to the decade prior had greeted them with genocide and murder, and nearly killed them all with a deadly explosive.
In retaliation, she sent the device back to the ones who sent it with a counter spell, which only served to anger more of them.
She never originally intended for them to be killed off, but they lashed out and left her no choice. Striking back, there was a seven year war for control of their planet, which had finally been relinquished to her. Now all that was left was to get rid of the rest of them, by all means available to her.
Throughout the years they had been persistent with their intent to lead a rebellion... which typically lead to them generally annoying her. They just refused to give up.
“Excuse me Celestia, you said you wanted green tea, right?” Celestia jumped in shock, her eyes widening, before settling back down after she realized it was only her maid.
“Yes, that's fine.” She sat on her haunches tiredly as a silver platter encased in a writhing green cloud of magic was set on the table. On top of the tray, her requested green tea sat, along with some cookies that weren’t necessarily what she asked for, but were a pleasant surprise to her.
“Will that be all, Princess? Would you like for me to fetch someone to play music?” The maid asked, tilting her head. Celestia said nothing at first, but looked back into the consistent pattern of stars laid out on the night sky.
“You do not mind chatting with me for a moment, do you?" Asked the princess. The maid shook her head, taking a seat at the opposite end of the table. "The night sky is quite pretty out tonight, isn't it?" Princess Celestia sat, a blank expression painted to her face. The maid nodded her head, the fur atop her head bouncing with it. "Humans went there, once. I read it in a book that a young boy had left me, as he told me stories from far out there, beyond the planet. It's ironic, then, that they would be so violent and disgusting to us despite what is so clearly a beautiful species. They are sentient bipedal creatures that regard us with malicious intent.” Celestia glumly rested her head between her forelegs, her eyes lifting back up the starry night sky. "It is not our fault that we're here now, but we are. Is it wrong to defend ourselves in a place we are clearly not welcome? We have no where to go- they leave us no choice but to fight back."
“They brought this upon themselves.” Shaking her head, the maid stood back up to collect the loose dishes in the room.
“Indeed.” Celestia sighed, scanning the sky for familiar constellations from home.
After collecting all of the loose dishes, the maid politely excused herself from the room to have them cleaned, leaving the princess to her lonesome once more.
“Lucky for us that they don't know how to interact with the weave. Magic in the hands of anarchists would have been a nightmare." Celestia chuckled to herself.
“I suppose.” A shadowy figure crept out of the walls, materializing behind the princess, as the newest member of the party began to take shape.
“Luna! Goodness, you scared me! What are you doing here?” Celestia, who had been rightfully startled by her sister's presence, shook off the chills her sister had brought to the room with her foreboding materialization spell.
“Sister, a girl has been spotted not far from here in the forest. We were informed by a patrol that our hunters would take care of her.” Luna proudly stood beside her sister with a bright smile, obviously giddy with the information being presented. “We have a squad ready on your command, moment notice departure."
“Give it a moment. We wait and see if it is going to present itself as a threat, or if it has come to surrender. This is a cold, unforgiving night to be killed. I do not wish for the girl to die."
"Understood, 'Tia. We will relay the message to the patrol."
"Wonderful." The princess returned to her balcony to watch the forest, as a the chilly wind slid past her, shaking the trees while loose leaves blew away sharply into the dirt...
Closing my copy of The 5th Wave, I slide the novel back into my knapsack, behind most of my more important stuff. I got a good reading session out of it, and with my head to the sky, I often got glimpses of the pretty night sky.
The sky used to be a place of wonder, as people told stories of hopes and dreams that we would finally get to see as reality. When we finally got to see what came from beyond the stars, I don't think many of us expected multicolored ponies and dragons. Nobody would have guessed that Unicorns could actually be the bad guys. Now when I look at the sky, I just get the impression we're being watched by some greater power to entertain them.
The really scary part wasn't even the dragons or other monsters, it was Alicorns.
Unicorns are capable of drawing magic directly from their horns, which means they're basically glass cannons. They typically hurl evocations and hexes, while some are proficient with schools like abjuration and conjuration; I've heard stories of transmutation and even rumors of necromancy, too. The point is that each unicorn has a different list of spells they're proficient with, which means that they're incredibly dangerous and difficult to handle if there's no quick way to figure out what spell they'll try killing you with.
Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean we will all die- despite how well their magic serves them, a bullet has proven to be a good counter to the unicorn spell problem.
On the other hand, Alicorns are a completely different story. Alicorns, (Celestia, Luna, and Cadence) are a combination of Pegasus, Unicorn, and Earth Ponies, or so they say. Not like I'd know. I'm working off of assumption here. What Alicorns are also known as is a big ton of ass. The only reason I know this stuff is because of the people I run into walking through the country. Those people are the ones who survived long enough to see one in action.
I've never seen one. I've heard of them. But I don't have much in terms of solid info at the moment.
I remember one day, when I was scavenging for food in a local 7/11, the moon came out and blocked the whole sun. It turns out that Alicorns can move things as huge as the sun and moon.
I don’t even want to think about the time the sun began spinning around our planet so fast that it nearly blinded me and my sister. It makes me want to kick something. Pricks.
My eyes drift away from the pitch black sky, and pull my copy of The 5th Wave closer to me. Yeah, now I know how Cassie feels. Poor Cassie. Poor me. Yawning, I slip it into my backpack, and stand up to stretch once more.
Of course I wasted, like, 3 hours to look at the stars. Not that I would really call it ‘wasting’, since I needed that calm peace. Otherwise, I might have just lost it out here so close to the enemy. I was beginning to go insane talking to myself.
I can’t stay in this forest any longer. I find myself pulling my M9 out of my backpack, as well as my final bottle of water. I open the cap and take a small sip, before jogging into the forest because I need to stretch my legs. The trees fly by me in a blur of green and brown, as I jump over logs and creeks. Nearly tripping over a rock, I stop for a short break. I put the bottle back to my lips, and fill up on some clear, pure water.
Ah. Who would have known that water would be such a delicacy when something like this would happen. Well, I mean... Not a delicacy, but a necessity. But necessitys are delicacys in my book.
I begin to walk through the woods rather than run, humming. I don't know what I'm humming, I just feel like I need something to do. The woods are quiet. But... Something's wrong.
Now, I’m not an expert investigator extraordinaire, but I’m alive for one reason and one reason only.
Attention to detail.
Usually, the forest is full of the little crickets chirping and doing whatever the hell they do. They usually shut up when someone comes near.
So someone... Somepony... Is stalking me.
I stop as I hear a stick snap. My eyes go wide as I remember what happened last time, and I jump directly to my left. A bolt of pure magic whizzes near my head, as I squirm in the dirt, trying to stand up. I scramble behind a tree, pure fear coursing through me. Heart pounding, I close the cap on my now empty water (which had spilled all over the fucking floor when I dodged the death ray).
Another flying projectile of concentrated matter flies to the left of me as I realize just how screwed I am right now. Chances are about equal right now, and the Unicorn (Please god, if you’re up there don’t be an Alicorn) has the upper hand. It has me right behind this tree, and is just waiting for me to run for it.
I could wait for it to tire out it’s magic, but it would have already called reinforcements. Which means it has got to go.
I lift up the M9 and shove the barrel to the side of the tree where I can open fire safely. If I don’t kill this hunter now, the whole palace will be coming for me. To kill me. I won’t have even the smallest chance of being spared. Yep. I’m in quite the predicament.
I pull my M9 back to the safety of my tree, and check the clip. I really don’t have enough ammo to go to waste. This Unicorn is going to kill me, just like… just like... I need to focus. I need to shut up.
I let some air into my lungs, and begin to count to 10. One. Two. Three. Fuck it, nevermind. The moment passed.
I’m not going to let it kill me, I can’t. I peek behind cover, and my eyes go wide when I see the Hunter rushing at me with it’s horn pointed directly at me. It has a wonderfully pure and clean brown coat, with very beautiful eyes the color of blueberries. It's mane is a darker shade than the rest of it's body, along with it's tail, too.
“Shi-” I drop to the floor at the last second, and feel the things hooves trample all over my black hoodie. It tries to skid backwards to face towards me again, but I’m too fast for it. I grab hold of it’s neck, and swing it onto it’s back.
Desperately, it fires another bolt of magic, but it flies off into the beautiful night sky. I gulp as I see it try to shove me off of it. Slamming my palm into its snout quickly, I fill my lungs with some clear air.
“You tried to kill me!” I snarl. I look into it's eyes, and see a fearful feeling of panic flash through them, and I can't help but feel sorry for it. Who knows. It might be me in that ponies shoes if I turned myself in. And I really hope it wasn’t human before this. I’d feel horrible.
It says nothing, but I can see that it understood exactly what I said. I pull back my arm, and punch it directly in the snout, and then again in the throat.
Letting it go only results in it retching in the dirt, trying to breathe as tears come to it’s eyes. It coughs up some spit, as it tries to regain its breath.
I lift up my pistol, and put it against it’s temple.
“Listen here, buddy. I am NOT going to die by some jerk that has to take out orders from someone who can’t even leave a room in a palace. No, she only watches events unfold before her. I don’t know if you used to be human, or if you never were, but I’m giving you a chance to go back where you came from without turning back. If I so much as see you turn your head an inch, I will blow your brains out. Am I clear?” I try to keep a calm voice, a calm posture, because frankly, I have never experienced an event like this in my whole three years of being alone. Sure, I've shot them. Sometimes I've even had to get up close and personal. But this was new. It was new trying to convince them to not screw me over.
The Unicorn’s eyes are wide, as it looks around it, surveying its options. I growl, and punch it in the face again, before prying open it’s mouth and shoving the M9’s whole barrel into its mouth. I try to calm myself as I begin to speak.
“This is your last chan-” The gun explodes in my hand, as my eyes go wide. Screaming, I look at my hand as it sprays blood. But the worst part is that the Unicorn’s head is scattered everywhere. I scream even louder at that thought. The pain in my hand feels SO fucking horrible, and I just want to make it stop. To end that endless burn.
I grab a fistful of my hair with my good hand, and stare in shock at it. It feels slick and sticky, with pieces of flesh clinging to it. It takes me a second to realize that that Unicorn made an attempt to kill me, or at least injure me, and sacrificed itself to do it. My whole hoodie is dirty, (as if it wasn't already) and blood LITERALLY coats the whole front of it.
My hand is COMPLETELY ripped up, pieces of skin hanging off of it. I don’t think that the Unicorn necessarily blew up my gun, I think it blew up the bullet that was in the chamber. If it ignited the gunpowder that sat in the clip, which was directly next to my hand, I don’t think my hand would be able to function, much less be there. I let out a shivery moan as I realize that I’m going to have to be really cautious from now on. These woods will be crawling with all types of ponies from rainbowland. I don’t even know where these assholes CAME from, to be honest, much less care.
Whimpering, I dig in my knapsack for my last few bandages (Which I had been saving for a Griffon attack, but oh well) and wrap them tightly around my hand.
“Hey! There’s the Human!” A low pitched, clearly distinctive male voice yells.
My jaw goes slack, as I look over my shoulder, AND HOLY MACARONI, THE WHOLE PALACE IS PRACTICALLY RUNNING AT ME!
I stand up, grab the backpack, and run.
When I was in Track for Middle School (Go Heaton Hawks), I always thought that running around would be really useless. I mean, who has to run around anymore if you have a car to drive you to where you want to go? Well, now I know what my brother was teaching me while I was complaining how my legs hurt.
“Oh yeah? Pretend I’m a zombie running full speed directly at you. What you gonna do then, huh?” (By the way, he was obsessed with anything that had zombies in it. He was cool, though. A good brother.)
And then he tackled me, and nearly gave me a concussion. Well, that was really helpful. Now that I think about it, his big-brother attitude to me has saved me quite a lot in this menacing world.
My hair flows behind me, swaying violently as I dodge trees and bushes. A magical ray of explosive matter slams into a tree to my left, which instantly engulfs into flames.
They aren’t goofing around. Especially since us humans are very rare things to see nowadays.
A tree collapses in front of me, as I veer off to the left and right making zig-zag patterns across the forest. I risk shooting a look behind me and nearly fall on my face as another spell comes flying directly at me.
I glance over to the left a bit, and see what looks like an open field, which means no more falling trees.
As I begin to run for the field, I realize it wasn't a field at all. It was a very steep precipice, which is about 200 feet high. I turn around to bail and turn another direction, and am met with a very large mob of ponies creeping towards me very slowly, with faces of complete and utter focus. These guys really, really want me dead. It's almost as if they don't care that I'm literally thinking about jumping off this cliff right now, no joke.
“Nowhere left to go.” I turn quickly, my breath nearly frozen in the cold air. A smiling Alicorn (Luna's the name I think) flies directly above me, just slowly flapping her wings. I feel hot tears come to my eyes as I realize that I had no chance of survival in these woods. My family sacrificed themselves to get here and I failed them both. I'm dead as hell.
I’m going to die here, alone, and always mad at myself for letting her die. For letting HIM die. Letting them both die.
I’m going to end up just like them, dead, cold, and with no one to save me.
“You know we aren’t going to kill you, correct? Strict orders from my sister telling me to take you with me.” I don’t believe her. I can’t. Not if they killed 99 percent of us. This chick is gonna kill me like the 99 percent of us.
I feel adrenaline pulse through me, as I realize I might meet a fate worse than death.
Rather than standing there like an idiot, I jump for the cliff, which is O’ so high, as I float among the sky.
I’d like to say I feel like an eagle, but honestly I feel like I’m plummeting like a rock.
And instead of flailing my arms desperately, all I can think of is how I’m going to die like my brother, and my sister.
And then it goes dark.
Author's Note
Pre-Reader Acknowledgement;
Okay, so I don't watch this show anymore but I couldn't bear reading my old cringe-writing, so I'm remastering this and giving it an actually cohesive plot with an expanded vocabulary to choose from. That's about it- tell me your thoughts in the comments.
Chapter 1; The Stranger(s) In The Woods
It was a long fall, and the water numbed my body, but I could still feel. I wasn't dead, thank god. What probably kept me alive without breaking any bones was a deep river at the bottom of the cliff. Thankfully, no rocks were jutting up out of the water, but that did not stop it from making the fall hurt a whole ton.
When I opened my eyes, I was in a world of chaos. I was flying down the river at the speed of a jet, slamming into the river bank, sending cold shivers up and down my spine.
The real question is, why didn't the Unicorns or the Alicorn decimate me on the spot? I should be dead right now, not flying around a river out of control. Whatever I guess. I'm still alive.
Kicking out desperately, I try to breathe, but end up getting a mouth full of dirty river water. My hand lurches out of the water to grasp onto something, ANYTHING, but come up with nothing. I try again, and catch a branch from a tree that's close enough to the river for me to grab hold. I pull myself out of the water, and nearly drop back in. My hand is bleeding like crazy, and burns like hell. My muscles strain as I lift myself up, my clothes heavy as two ton bricks.
Climbing up the branch, I take a deep breath, and let out a sigh.
"Fuck." What an accurate word to describe what just happened. Maybe I should say it again to show I'm really 'feeling it'. "Fuck." I repeat, but with a bit more effort.
I take another heavy breath, right after I choke some river water out of my mouth. Ew.
Heart thumping, I try to calm myself as I climb higher onto the limb of the tree. Jesus Christ... I LITERALLY SAW AN ALICORN. That's a feat in itself. Especially since I survived. That's definitely gonna get me some points when I meet another survivor, no doubt. Too bad I don't have a camera to prove it though.
What was the best way to handle the situation? I think about this question for a minute, trying to come up with an answer.
Well, most of my human peers would be leaving these woods at the speed of a Nascar, probably in fear of being caught by the "ponies" (& co.). But they probably know by now that would be my first instinct. I'm not stupid. Proof of that would be my survival for the last three years.
On the other hand, I know Luna isn't going to just fall for my little game. She's going to send in a search party anyways, even if she thinks I'm heading back for Colorado Springs. Hell, she's probably searching this very river right now. I need to get moving to Chicago, where the remaining Humans have made a safe haven. I let out a sigh, realizing just how far I have to go. Why can't I ever catch a break?
I grit my teeth as I open up my backpack and pull out my stitching kit, which was MEANT for clothes, but I'm gonna have to work with what I got. That's what everything is nowadays. Work with what you got.
I lift up my knife with my left hand, and make a very clumsy chop at the tree, and remove some bark from it's exterior. I shove the bark in my mouth, and bite down on it hard, chewing for a minute to make a soft pulp of what was once just some dirty wood and tree sap. I try to evenly spread it out between my teeth to act as a cushion for when I end up grinding my teeth together from the pain. Then, I put the needle that already has thread to my hand.
I slowly shove the needle into my hand, and feel a burning sensation fly throughout my hand as I bite down as hard as I can on the bark. Shoving the rest of the needle through my hand, I choke, hot tears sliding down my cheek. Fuck. This.
Stop being such a wuss, Chrysie. You can do this. It hurts, but what hurt the most? Seeing Mom and Dad turn themselves into those things and... Look, the point is, hurry up and get it over with. This isn't the worst thing to happen to you.
I'm trying. God, isn't that good enough?
For a second, I think about turning myself in. They won't kill me, but I don't really want to be a hybrid. Nor a dragon. Or a griffin... Really, screw all that. Why the hell would I even consider it.
I shove the needle through my skin again, trying to stay calm, when I stop to listen for a second. Panting hard, my hand twitches crazily as I try to regain my senses.
Fuck this, man.
I nearly choke on the bark as another needle slowly slides through my flesh, creating a nice little patchwork skin quilt. Cute.
This is an in-explainable amount of pain. An exhausting amount of effin' pain.
Hey, Chrysie. You know what Apollyon always said? Suck it up, dirtwad. Alright, maybe he didn't always say that but that's what you are Chrysie. A dirt wad. You haven't showered in three years, so it makes sense right? The closest thing you've had to a shower was your little dip in the river ten minutes ago.
I really need to stop talking to myself. He's dead. Dead. And who the hell wants to remember the dick-like tendencies of a dead person? Nobody, that's who.
After about twenty more pain filled journeys of needle misery, I'm finally done repairing my dysfunctional hand. Carefully, I lean back against the trunk of the tree to open my backpack again. I adjust my shoulder so that I'm loosely hanging over the branch of the tree, and able to reach into my bag.
You know what you think? What you know? You know they didn't die.
I ignore myself, and reach for my backpack. Quit thinking. Thinking is for pussies. Thinking's what gets you killed.
I grab my box of Granola bars (which I traded a small box of ammo for half a year ago) and select a chocolate covered almond one. Not very nutritious, but delicious according to anyone I've ever met. Chocolate in any sort of form nowadays is hard to come by. Just like all candy's and sweets and fun things. Now everything is lame. And boring. And stale. And like... Lame. Gross.
Sighing, I unwrap the wrapper on the bar of oats and chocolate, and get ready to rip into the little sad source of nutrition as some sort of prize for not dying. That was what I was saving the chocolate one for, after all.
And just as soon as I take my first bite, a Timberwolf jumps up to my branch and yanks me to the floor. My granola bar flies off for the river, and I'm dragged deeper into the woods. My mind sort of goes into slow motion as I realize how fucking ridiculous this is.
By now, I don't really have much of a choice on whether I'm going to get eaten or not because:
(1) I lost my gun to a Unicorn's stupid ass magic, (2) I'm being dragged face-down in the dirt, (3) my knife is currently residing in my backpack which is, you guessed it, (4) hanging on the stupid fucking tree.
Now, what would be the first thing you would do in this situation? Scream like a little bitch, probably. Me on the other hand; "Help! It's got me! HEEELP!" Screaming as loud as I can, the Timberwolf stops to growl at me before it kills me. Snarling, it lunges for me and nearly rips my face off. Instead, it wraps it's jaws around my abdomen (below my breasts), and shakes me violently. Grabbing a fist-full of dirt, I throw it into it's eyes as I frantically try to to escape it's grip. It's mouth goes slack, and releases me from it's wooden grip.
I scramble to my feet and run, before realizing I have to grab my backpack which is filled with essential survival tools.
Unfortunately, the little cock head is guarding the tree with its life. It bares it's teeth menacingly, and makes a weird chuckling sound. Which also means that it knows exactly what I'm going for.
"Come on dude, can't you just give me a break already?" I say with a frustrated sigh.
Summoning up all my courage, I lean down and grab a rock before choking out a stupid one-liner. "Kick rocks, wad!"
I have never felt so pumped and scared in my whole life. The Timberwolf bounds out at me, before shrinking back and letting out a spine-chilling snarl, taunting me. I chuck my one and only rock at it's face, which collides directly with it's wooden snout. It seems stunned for a moment as it howls in frustration. I search for something else to throw at it before a loud gunshot rings through the forest. And then, it’s jaw goes slack as it collapses into a heap in the dirt. For a split second, I feel like I'm about to be shot as well, so I put my hands up casually. I let in a deep breath, and prepare to try to reason with whoever shot the wolf.
“Hello there. What do ya think yer doing in these parts?” I swirl around in confusion and come face to face with... A human boy, armed to the teeth with ammunition and weaponry. He has pale skin, and looks as if he was raised somewhere in the country. He has a contemplating look plastered on his face. "It's awfully rude to ignore a gentleman, miss.” He mutters. My eyes veer off to his tough hands, which clutch a revolver tightly.
“Where the hell did you come from?” I shout in panic. Indeed, I have no clue where this kid came from.
“Well, I aught ta be asking YOU that question. What in the bloody hell are you doing in Colorado? Are ya fuckin' mental or somethin’?” He snaps back. "Or are you trying to get killed?"
“Oh my god...” I try to wrap my mind around what’s going on, as the stranger sits down on a good sized rock. I let out a sigh of relief. "Woah... Okay... I need... I need to sit down."
“Excuse me, Miss. I just saved yer life. That Timberwolf right there just about ate ya up fer breakfast. I think I deserve a name from you, at the very least. As for me, my name is Dixon. I’m searching these woods for anyone who’s stupid enough to wander in here.” He explains, before pointing at me.
“But... How did you find me? Aren’t you survivors supposed to be heading for Chicago?” I ask.
“Uh, yeah. Not me though, I gotta search for people who are wandering around. It's like, obligatory or somethin'. Ya still haven’t answered ma question, by the way. Who are you?” He waves the pistol around. I notice a shotgun on his back, so I have a feeling he's not going to be easy to take down if it comes to confrontation.
“You’re just some random kid! How can I trust you? What if you like, want to rape me or something?” I question, concern setting in. "I did not come this far to get violated." I warn. "I'll kick your fucking ass."
“I ain’t gonna rape ya, miss. This world's gone fuckin' nuts, but us humans gotta' look out for each other. Even if some of us are really, really stupid." He rolls his eyes, again pointing at me.
“Fuck you dickhead.” I try to make the most annoyed face as possible to convince him that I'm not impressed.
“Sure, I'ma dick, but aren't we all nowadays? We have to be." He flashes me an annoyingly charming smile, before continuing, "Now do tell me, what were ya doin in these woods?” He flashes an adorable, annoying smile, as I sigh and sit down.
“I was actually in Arizona, and was crossing through Colorado on my expedition to Boston. My mistake.” I mutter. Of course it was my mistake. The same mistake that got my siblings killed.
“Isn’t Arizona, like, the place where, uh...”
“Sorry, what’d you say?” I ask, feeling my heart sink as I realize we're about to hit touchy subject territory.
“... It’s ground zero, huh?” He asks quietly.
“Yeah. Ground Zero.” I feel my heart sink as we sit quietly. “ I wasn't there, when the bomb hit. I mean, I lived there but... My family was lucky, we were on vacation in Minnesota.” I explain.
Arizona. It was where the first attempt at destroying all of the pony fuckwads was made. It... It didn't work. Obviously.
“Oh. Well, what were ya doin’ there?” He asks. "Ya weren't concerned about radiation?"
“Well-” I begin.
A small rustle in the tree to my left stops my explanation, as me and Dixon both stop to stare at the tree.
Tonight had been a really peaceful night, without any wind. So I can't understand how that the tree's leaves just moved on their own. Weird.
And then things take a complete turn for the worst, as a Griffon hops down onto one of the branches, and looks down at us.
“Hey Dixon did you-, OH MY GOSH!” I feel my heart sink. “Heya! My name’s Maxie!” The griffon perched on the tree branch cocks it's head excitedly.
Unless Dixon snaps out of his stupid trance, we are dead meat. Literally. This thing will probably feast on our corpse.
“Maxie! Not now! You’ll scare her!” Dixon groans. Maxie? Who in the hell is Maxie?
“...” I carefully reach for my back pack, which is perched directly above me. My knife. I need that knife NOW.
“Oh, sorry Dixon. I just returned from my little scouting raid because I heard the gunshot. Are you okay? Oh my gosh, you must have shot that Timberwolf right through the eye! It’s corpse is barely scathed.” It observes, apalled. I try to understand. How does it know Dixon's name?
My eyes never leave its body as I reach deep in my backpack for my throwing knife.
“D-dixon? What’s going on here?” I slowly question. I need to buy time.
“Oh, sorry again miss. Her name’s Maxie, she’s my best freind. She’ll be helping us get outta the forest. I hope she didn’t scare ya... Anyways, what’s yer name miss? I never caught it.” He asks politely.
My hand wraps around the handle of the knife, and I lift up my arm in an arch. The blade comes loose from my grip, and flies off towards the Griffon, dead center. A bullseye. No way will it miss.
The griffon barely moves a feather as it dodges my one and only knife with expertise skill and precision.
“Hey!” The griffon ducks, and my one and only knife flies into the forest. “Are you trying to... Kill me?” The griffon glides down in front of me, and stops directly in front of me. “I think we can be great friends. But I sorta can’t if you’re trying to stab me. Relationship's just won't work that way.” It blinks once, and searches my eyes for something. My heart is thumping REALLY, REALLY, hard. The griffon smiles before backing up awkwardly. It blushes.
“H-how...?” I stutter. I have had years of practice with throwing knives, Dad always took us to the range to practice. How did this Griffon dodge it JUST like that? I avert my eyes to Dixon as I quietly ask with my eyes, WHAT IN THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?
“Oh, Maxie’s a... Come with me real quick... We’ll be right back Maxie. Can I please get your name?” He asks.
“Yeah, AS SOON AS YOU TELL ME WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!” I exclaim.
“Look. Maxie’s a hybrid. She was human, then the enemy tried to convert her into a part of their Griffon army. Mind control bullshit, creating bodies for our consciences, stuff like that. She doesn’t like talking about it. How about that though? We humans will be able to give them a taste of their own medicine! We can finally fight back, now!" He exclaims excitedly. I try to piece together what he just said.
“What the hell does that mean? It could rip us apart!” I whisper menacingly. I know damn well what he means, but aren't hybrids supposed to, like, lose all their memories and sense of human reasoning? All they've ever know was to kill us because of what 'we' did. Whatever that was.
“First off, Maxie's a her; Not an ‘it’. Secondly, she’s really nice, so I expect ya to be real kind to her. She’s been through a lot, and she’s pretty nice to everyone she meets. Including people who through knives at her. Now, I think I deserve to know your name.” He gives me his cute, stupid smirk again and all I can do is sigh.
“My name’s Chrysie. Now quit asking.” I mutter. I try to push him out of the way so I can trudge off and think.
“What an interesting name. I don’t think I've heard it before. Now, Miss Chrysie, let’s get back to Maxie and get some rest. Introduce ya to her.” He suggests. He grabs my shoulder and spins me around so that I'm facing him.
“Ugh...” I groan, not really interested in the Griffin, whoever 'she' is.
“You should really stop mumbling, Chrysie. It makes ya sound super annoying.” He jokes, as he pulls a thing of bread out of his back pack and tosses it between his hands. He holds it out as if it's a sword, and teasingly slaps me with it. I actually smile, probably out of the sheer fact that the situation is awkward, and just let out a quiet murmur of "whatever."
Of course, he tells me to stop mumbling again.
So I stop mumbling.
Author's Note
Pre-Reader Acknowledgement(s);
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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;
"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;
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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Celestia. All I see is red as I lash out at her. She easily dodges my fist before looking down at me in confusion. Amusement, probably.
"You are quite the fighter, aren't you? Even when the threat of death pursues you, you insist on being incompliant. Before we turn her into one of us, I'll give you one last chance to tell us where your youngest sister is. I have a divine feeling that she is indeed an elemental, but you dodging my questions isn't going to help me or you in the slightest." Celestia sighs, shifting her weight to her right side.
"For the last time, I'm not helping you. Chrysie is long gone, and I'm not about to throw her under the bus." I declare.
"Oh? You'll make for a good soldier when this is all done and through.Tell me where your sister is. It will assist you tremendously, and will save both me and you a lot of misery. Do you want to see your sister Violet, as a dragon? They aren't nice, I assure you." Celestia pokes me teasingly, pacing around the table. "Not nice at all. Especially to your type."
My heart skips a beat. So that's what they're doing. Violet... I can't save both Chrysie AND her. My mouth fumbles for words, for anything. I look up into Celestia's eyes, those stupid starry night sky eyes.
"Fuck. You."
She snorts angrily before slamming her hoof on the table, sending stuff tumbling to the floor.
"So be it, you little jerk. Perish to your sister then. She'll kill you with no remorse." She snarls.
So they're going to kill me with my own weaponised sister.
How sick are these things?
My name is Apollyon. Chrysie's brother.
She's only sixteen. She shouldn't have to live in a world like this. None of us should, really.
Three years ago, we dropped a nuke on these bastards, but some sort of magical barrier kept them safe while thousands upon thousands of our own homes were destroyed. And they weren't very happy about the fact that we tried to kill them.
So obviously, uh... That shit didn't work.
Mom and Dad told us everything would be okay. That the army would figure out something. But only four months in, they gave up on any hope that the military would fix things, and went to find Celestia to plead for our lives. And then they got turned into those things, and were pretty much tasked with hunting their kids down.
Just when I thought they could take nothing else from me, they're turning my sister into a monster to kill me too.
How the hell did they even get here?
Violet had always been sort of just... The nice one. Constantly offering her own possessions to us, making flower bracelets for Chrysie (and I'll be honest, I wore her bracelets too)... And now she won't remember any of it. What did she do to deserve this?
The truth is, she didn't do anything. She's done everything in her power to avoid this.
To avoid becoming one of them.
Personally, I think she'd rather be dead.
A sword lays adjacent to me on a table. I sit in a comfy padded chair, arms crossed. Celestia stares at it, intently waiting for me to pick it up. The light in the room shines off of it's tip, reflecting into a faint ray of light. It has a strange pattern along its base of a circle with three diamonds jutting out of it.
"Well? Are you just going to sit there, dumbfounded I'm even letting you have a weapon to defend yourself, or are you going to go without it?" She barks.
"I'm not killing my sister, even if she's brainwashed. So get that out of my face, you fucking freak." I flinch as she throws it over my shoulder, and watch as she lets out an angry grunt.
"You know what? This is your own fault. You shan't cooperate. You shan't help. Screw you!" I hold back a yelp as she throws a chair at the wall, her horn shining brightly. The chair shatters into teeny weeny little pieces. It's obvious I need to shut the fuck up.
"Looks like Celestia the Cunt is throwing a fit. Just like every other dictator when they don't get their way." I can't help myself. My stupid mouth has a mind of its own.
"Guards! Get this human out of here, I'm sick of trying to reason with this little prick." She spits. Two guards, both unicorn, burst in, and usher me out of the room.
Ponies stop to watch me get escorted out of the room, chattering nervously.
"Is that him?"
"Looks to be."
"I heard he got sentenced to death by some hybrid. It must be his sister."
I tune them out, and focus my attention to the two guards escorting me out the front door.
"Tell me where you're taking me." I demand.
In response, they point to the Bronco stadium. They seem to have turned it into a colloseum of sorts. Lights and music can be heard from blocks away, and the sound of a broadcaster yelling through the speakers can be picked out of the vast array of sounds.
So that's where it's gonna happen. That's where my sister is gonna kill me.
The two guards start chatting excitedly about the event.
"It's actually his sister who is fighting him. Celestia talked with her about an hour ago, got her riled up. Told her something or another to convince her to rip the kid to pieces." He turns around and looks at me intently. "You excited for that? To get ripped to bits?" He asks menacingly.
"Not really. I'm just thankful that I can just get this done and over with. Now shut up and take me to her." I mumble, anxiously trying to think of a way out of the predicament. I can't die. Chrysie can still be saved, she's looking for me. I can't abandon her now, when she needs me to keep her safe.
"Don't talk to me like that. You're the one in chains, anyways. I expect a good fight from you." The guard threatens.
"I'm not here to entertain you, you little prick. I'm here to face the monster that you made."
The guards looks me down for a moment before groaning, and prodding me to walk faster.
As we walk, I notice something on the side of a brick apartment. My eyes scan the wall, and I happen to see something that looks interesting enough for me to stop and stare.
To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart. —Eleanor Roosevelt
I think about it for a minute, before getting pushed by the guard in the back.
"Keep moving, human. Your sister is waiting. Waiting to eat you alive, if you catch my drift."
I think about the poem some more, before following the guards request and marching past a crowd of ponies and griffons yelling in my direction teasingly whilst throwing garbage.
It's very quiet when I shuffle to the center of the coliseum, supplied with only my clothes and bare fists. It seems that the spectators were shushed upon my arrival.
Just talk with her. Calm her down. She's probably scared right now, and needs you to calm her. Deep breaths. Deep... breaths... .
The two guards from earlier both run over to me at full speed with the sword from earlier, before setting it down at my feet.
"Hey, it wouldn't be entertainment if you didn't stand even the smallest of chances. Good luck, from Princess... Huh. It's from Princess Cadence." The guard raises an eyebrow at the note it came with, before having me pick the sword up. He hands me the note with his magic; the note reads:
Dear Human, You may not know me, and I may not know you. But I believe there's good in everybody. No matter how much you love your sister, she can't be what she was before. It simply can't be allowed under our dearest princess Celestia's orders. So instead, I present you this sword to defend yourself from the firey anger your sister is sure to have when she sees you. I don't agree with this punishment, nor the fact that it's being used as a medium of entertainment, but my place in the Equine kingdom does not allow me to dictate what is right and what is wrong. I'm simply here to spread love among beings, and to ensure that us ponies can have healthy sex relationships. Anyways, I wish you the best in your fight, and my heart sympathizes with yours. ~Love, Princess Cadence <3
"Yeah. Thanks." I reply mockingly, already getting ready to discard the sword. Before I can though, I feel my fingers tighten around the blade's handle, and my fingers instinctively find a comfortable spot for when I decide to swing the sword. I notice the emblem on the blade's base glow faintly, and I can't help but feel comfortable holding the thing. I decide to hold onto it for, uh... Safe keeping.
"You should be thanking Princess Cadence. She saw something in you. Too bad you won't be able to thank her yourself though. Y'know. Cause you'll be a puddle of blood." They both bow, before wishing me good luck. And then they're off, kicking up a plume of dust.
I furrow my eyebrows, before taking the blade out one more time with my right hand, and gently swinging it to the left and right to get a feel for it's weight.
"Good afternoon everypony!" A pegasus flies overhead, a megaphone held to his lips. "I hope everyone is super excited for the show. Please, sit back and enjoy. Please welcome Violet into our family with loving arms. She really needs it right now~".
I jump as a loud thud from behind me sends a ripple of rock my way from the floor, only some odd 100 feet away from me. It must be Violet, it has to be. Her entry leaves a cloud of smoke, obscuring my vision. I cock my head towards the dust, as it sprays into my face, and I instinctively sheath the sword and shield my eyes with my left arm.
"Violet? Violet, It's me. It's Apollyon, your brother." I call. I choke on some dust, but push forward through the cloud in her general direction.
"You fucking bastard. How dare you? How could you bring yourself to commit such an awful thing?" Violet calls out woefully.
I didn't think it would hurt this bad to hear her voice again. Sure, it's only been a couple of hours, but I still can't help but feel pain in my heart.
"Violet, what are you talking about? I didn't do anything to you." I plead, walking towards the dust cloud to reach out to her. She needs me. At a time when everything is falling apart around us, she needs me. She finally comes into view as I step out of the cloud.
She's big. Like, really big.
She's (ironically) a dark shade of violet, with short horns and some jagged teeth. My eyes can't help but avoid the fact that she has some sharp claws, too.
It only now occours to me that she's a dragon now. Only now does all of what I was told have any weight or meaning.
"I can't remember anything because of you. I lost everything, even my brother. The brother that you killed." She sobs, obviously distressed. She then begins to stretch out her claws, showing them off to me in a more menacing fashion. I step back in surprise. They can't be forcing her to believe that some dragon is her brother. "See these? I use them to get people who hurt me. Celestia told me you killed my brother. It's time to avenge him." She screams in anguish, before throwing herself directly at me.
"Wait!" She slams into me, and we roll in the dirt and dead grass, and a laceration on my arm almost instantly flares up and begins to spray blood. It's evident her claw got me in my bicep, and I try to think of what exactly it is I should do. I decide to run.
The sword on my back begins to make a strange hissing sound, which I ignore for the moment, instead focusing on running away.
"Run, coward!" She screeches, before taking to the air once more. I collapse in the dirt, sprawled out in pain. The crowd is yelling like crazy, my head is spinning... I hear a sharp screech from above me, and roll to the side, narrowly dodging her claws.
"Violet, listen to me! They brainwashed you into believing their-!" I yelp, as she swipes at me angrily.
"You are so desperate to live! You murderer!" Instinct kicks in and I throw a fist at her snout. I throw another at her eye. Both connect pretty dead center. She screams in agony, and a wave of regret hits me.
"I-i'm sorry!" I choke out. She howls, and lashes out at me again.
"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" She pounces atop me, trying to bite into my neck. Her eyes glisten with tears, and I can't help but feel hurt as I watch her. I shove her off, gasping for air.
We both scramble to our feet (or claws), staring one another down like animals. Slowly circling each other, like orbiting planets.
"I love you Violet. So much." She breathes in heavily. Angrily. "A-and, I love you for what you are now, too. You have to remember this morning, Violet." I let in a deep breath, as she loosens up, staring at me as if I'm speaking more lies. "Were you afraid sis? I don't blame you." I plead.
She stares at me for a few seconds, and I watch as she grimaces in disbelief.
Suddenly, the sword on my back stops hissing. And then the light. It juts out of the emblem, cascading down onto Violet, who tries to shield her eyes in time to avoid the sudden attack.
The light blankets her in it's warmth, shining a beautiful white.
A soft howl from the blade and a murmur is heard, and it's over.
Suddenly, she snaps out of her trance. Baffled, she looks down at her claws, then up at me. Her eyes begin to water, as she collapses onto the floor in a mess. Her entire body is caked with dirt.
"Apollyon... Oh my god..." She turns her head to the crowd. "Why are they doing this to us?" She whimpers.
I look over the crowd, who is simply watching in awe as my sword dwindles it's light into a faint glow. I try to make sense of what happened, but can't seem to stumble onto a conclusion. For the moment, I shove it to the back of my mind.
I then run up to Violet and check on her. The crowd simultaneously gasps, while I look her over, making sure she isn't hurt.
"Apollyon... What's happened to me?" She asks, looking over herself, devestated.
"Violet, that doesn't matter right now. Me and you, we have to get out of here. We can talk about it later." I proclaim, unsheathing the sword. She jumps back in fear. I notice her distrust to the sword, so I slide it back into it's leather holster. She instantly relaxes.
"... They got me didn't they? I'm a dragon now..." She does a 360, taking it all in. Her tail, wings...
"Violet, you're fine... We need to get out of here now, and we'll talk about it later. I'm just happy you're okay." I promise, before hopping onto her back.
"Hey! What do you think your doing?" She yelps.
"Violet, we need to fly. Now. They all seem to know what's going on now, so we have to get somewhere safe." I order.
"F-fly?" She asks.
"Yeah! Your a dragon, flap your wings and get us outta here!" I yelp worriedly. The crowd is beginning to get out of control. The guards are coming as we speak.
Panicking, she begins running and frantically flapping her wings. With all her effort, we manage to get off the ground.
"Get ready for a fight, Violet." I mutter, watching as Pegasi and Griffin's take flight after us. "Just keep flying, I'll take them."
She simply nods, visibly shaking as she flies ahead.
Author's Note
Pre-Reader Acknowledgement;
hybrids are actually just otherkin true story
weird but true
"I never really thought about it, but your feathers look pretty too. I guess I never really took the time to look at them." I compliment Maxie as we continue to walk to camp.
Earlier, Maxie said something about my hair, and how she used to do it just like that. She told me it made me look cute. So in response, I quickly thought up a kind compliment.
"Thanks! I try to make my head feathers kind of floof in the front and in the cheeks, but it takes forever and I don't have time to do it all in the morning." She explains. "If you like it, I'll do it more often." She teasingly punches my shoulder.
"Well, uh, haha... yeah. For me, I try and tuck my bangs to the right, level with my eyebrows. I mean, I don't think you've noticed but my right eye kinda seems a little... I dunno, droopy. My hairstyle kinda rests right above my eye. I go through SO much hair spray doing my hair like that though, and I can never find it when I'm out scavenging." I can't help but relax as me and Maxie walk through the woods back to camp. It feels good talking to another girl about girl stuff. I mean, Violet was nice and all but... She's gone now. I feel a lump in my throat as I think of her, which I promptly swallow. Quit thinking. Just talk.
"I haven't noticed a lazy eye at all, actually. Your hair looks awesome though. I wish I could do something like that with my feathers." She sighs, blushing profusely. I awkwardly rub my shoulder in response, my eyes falling to the floor.
"Is something wrong?" Maxie asks, stopping for me. I keep my eyes level to the floor, shaking my head.
"I'm doing better than I was last night. Can't complain." Maxie nods in response, before stopping suddenly. Her tail shoots up, lightly swaying from side to side. "What is it?" I ask, reaching for the gun.
"Sh... Let me listen." Her eyes dart around the scenery as I pull the shotgun out of its sling, and level it towards the floor.
I too, begin to cautiously observe the forest, scanning for something. I dunno what it is... But I suppose we're about to find out.
Maxie's face tenses up, and she points to a tree.
"There's something behind that tree." She whispers.
"I'll go take care of it." I mumble, raising the shotgun.
I trudge through a pile of leaves, my gun pointed to the tree.
"Come out in the open, hands up. Or claws. Or hooves... You get the point." I order. A soft fizzling sound flares up from behind it, and I instinctively jump to the left.
A dark blue puddle of what appears to be some sort of acid suddenly appears just short of a foot away from me, which sends me scrambling backward.
A shrill shriek of "attack!" rings through the forest, and a roar of voices join in support.
"Chrysie, are you okay?" Maxie runs over, worriedly looking around the forest. The trees are suddenly alive, and the leaves begin to shake as griffons hop off of branches.
A fireball slams into a tree a couple feet away from us as a horde of ponies come fumbling out of bushes.
"I'm... I'm fine. Let's get the hell out of here." I pull the shotgun close to me, and sprint in the direction of the camp.
Maxie follows loosely behind, running full speed on all fours. She pulls to my side as I sprint straight ahead.
"Chrysie, I'll fly ahead to the camp and let Dixon know that you're coming. Give me the gas so I can fill up the car while you run." She orders. Realizing I don't really have a choice, I unstrap the gas that's hanging off a rope on my hip, and pass it to her. "Be careful, Chrysie." Maxie flashes me a worried expression, before flapping her wings and taking to the sky.
I let out a grunt of effort, and push myself to run faster.
Why can't I ever get a break?
"Fire!" Someone howls behind me. I shoot a glance over my shoulder, and just barely manage to jump out of the way of an incoming fireball. "Don't kill her, you idiot! She's no use to us dead! Ugh, I have to do everything around here."
Heaving myself up out of a pile of leaves and twigs, I stumble forward only to be tackled to the floor by what feels like a griffon.
"Gotcha." The thing above me grunts. Struggling in the dirt, I yelp out for help.
"Help!" I squeak. A talon goes over my mouth as a griffon shushes me. It tugs at my hair lightly.
"Shush. We're not here to kill you, not yet anyways. Your girlfriend isn't coming back for you anyways. Just give up."
Sucking in some dirt from laying face down in it, I use the rest of my strength to roll around and sock the griffon in the face. Surprisingly, I hit him hard. He falls off in a heap, just as it's pony friends show up to help pacify me.
Shocked, they stop to check on the griffon before leaving him to come and get me. Stumbling backwards, I pull out the shotgun as quick as I can and take aim at the head of the one on the left. They both skid to a halt to turn around and run, but the one on the left isn't so lucky.
It's head pops into a scarlet red bloodfest, sending a ribbon of blood and flesh practically everywhere. It's body crumples to the floor, it's forelegs buckling before falling on it's side. Bits of flesh hang to the side of what's left of it's head. Blood everywhere.
God damn, this shotgun packs a punch. My arm feels like jelly.
"Sweet Celestia... Dawn Shimmer! We need reinforcements, now!" The pony on the right orders. It seems to have found cover from behind a tree.
Not wanting to stay for the party, I put the shotgun in its sling and zigzag through the pattern of trees.
What looks to be a campsite ahead fills me with newfound strength, and I sprint full speed for it. Sure enough, Dixon and Maxie are running around and picking things up. Everything they grab gets tossed into the back of a white Subaru.
"Pant, pant, They're... Ugh... They're coming..." I heave.
"Shit. Maxie, get in the passenger seat, that's all we can grab. Great, ah... Fuck. Chrysie, okay... Okay, shit. Chrysie, you can drive right?" Dixon asks, dumping a sloppily wrapped up sleeping bag in the trunk, then promptly shutting it.
"Ugh... no..." I pant, trying to catch my breath.
"Fuck. Alright, I need you to get on top of the car and shoot anything that tries to hop on. I was going to go in your place, but I'm the only one who can drive. I'm awfully sorry." He apologizes.
Too tired to argue, I limp over to the car and drag myself onto the roof. Maxie peeks her head out of the window, shocked.
"What? No, Chrysie. You come in the car. You drive." She appears to be looking for Dixon, obviously kind of pissed.
"He's... Ugh, He's the only one who can drive." I take a deep breath.
Maxie looks up to me, nervously chirping. She doesn't seem to see any other options.
"Right. You're right. Please be careful." She asks, looking up at me worriedly.
"I'll be fine." I nod.
Dixon runs to the car, and hops in the driver seat, starting the ignition. The car shakes to life, the engine purring nicely.
"Hold on Chrysie!" He yells up to me. "We're going cross-country!"
Looking around for something to hold onto, I latch onto a groove above me that kind of sinks into the car. Like a dent, or something.
The car's wheels try to grab at the dirt road, before finding a hold and propelling us forward. My body jumps up, nearly flying off the car.
Coming back down and my back slamming into the metal, I don't hold back on cussing.
"Son of a-" A rather large griffon jumps out of tree, aiming for the car. Swinging the shotgun out to catch it on the way down, I shoot from the hip.
The recoil from the blast makes a dent in the car roof, but on the plus side I got a clean shot on its chest. It falls onto me bleeding and screeching. Swinging the gun around my waist, I thwack the griffon with the barrel while simultaneously pulling the trigger. Going limp, the body easily folds off of the car and tumbles into the grassy forest.
"Ugh." I mumble. "I... am... so done with this bullshit."
Reaching up for the groove in the roof of the car nearly saves my life as we hit a bump in the dirt road. The car jumps, and I slide to the right of the car, legs hanging off the edge.
I can distinctly hear Maxie screech at Dixon to slow down, which gives me a momentary feeling of gratitude. Pulling myself forward, I let out a grunt of effort.
Good Lord, what's next?
Dixon slows the car to a halt, rolling down the window.
"Get in the car, quick!" He hisses.
"Don't have to tell me twice." I retort, unintentionally slipping off the car onto the floor in a heap.
"Apollyon?" Violet asks, prodding me with a claw. She seems to be bothered by something.
"What's up sis?" I respond, sifting through a satchel a Pegasus happened to have on it. It doesn't seem to have anything of too much value, just a picture of what appears to be it's family, some coins, and what appears to be a Mountain Dew: Baja Blast .
Jackpot. Something for me and Violet to drink other than creek water, I guess.
"Well... I mean... I want to talk about what happened back there. Back at the coliseum, I mean." Violet awkwardly swishes her tail to and fro. Her tail is quite large, and kicks up a ton of dirt through each sweeping motion.
"Yeah... I don't know what happened back there. It was... Weird." I stop sifting through the bag, my mind going to the sword. I just want to keep looking at it...
My hands reach for the handle, and pull it out of it's holster. It shimmers in the light brilliantly, and feels natural to hold. Comforting, almost.
Violet takes a step back from it, visibly unnerved.
"No need to show me the sword." She says, shakily taking another step back. "I've... I've already seen it before."
Confused, I lower it.
"You okay?" I ask, tilting my head.
"Y-yeah... It's just... The sword. It makes me feel... Empty, almost." She shudders. "It talks to me, kind of. Says mean things." She admits.
Appalled, I raise it to look at it again. It shines brilliantly once more, and the emblem at the base faintly glows. Violet jumps back again, visibly shaken.
The blade doesn't seem to be talking, or making any sort of sound at all.
"Are you sure Violet?" I respond, studying the emblem. It feels so familiar, looking at it... Like... Like I've seen it before...
"Yes, I'm sure. Please put it away." She begs.
"Yeah... I'll keep it in the bag from now on. At least until we figure out what's up with it. We might have something really powerful on our hands." I mumble, shaking my head. Sheathing the sword in a special compartment on the side of my newfound satchel, I go back to checking out the torched bodies of the spectators from the coliseum.
Violet watches with a somber expression, before letting out another sad sigh.
"What's wrong?" I ask, standing up and brushing off my hands.
"Can we talk about the fact that I'm a dragon now?" She bursts out. She's audibly distressed.
"Well... Yeah, sure. Let's talk about it." I yawn whilst stretching, before taking a seat on a log. "What do you want to talk about?"
"Everything. Everything, Apollyon." She admits, laying down in the dirt. "I'm literally a monster now. How am I supposed to live like this? I'm huge. I breathe fire unintentionally, like w-when I sneeze, or if I laugh... And... Well..." Her face turns red. "I constantly feel like I have to burp. I know that sounds so stupid, but it makes me feel gross. It sucks." She sadly shakes her head.
I nod along to her explanation, pulling out the Baja Blast from earlier. I try to come up with some words to console her.
"Maybe... maybe all of it isn't a bad thing, Violet. I mean, being able to breathe fire is cool. You can fly too. That's a big plus. And I mean, I don't really mind if you have to burp or whatever, we're family. I love you no matter what, even if you're not like me."
Violet nervously blushes.
"You're just making me embarrassed. I hate this." She sighs. "It's not about whether or not you still love me or not, or if you care about the fact that I'll be burping all the time. I don't care what you think. I care what I think. And I think I'm a monster." She pounds her fist on the floor, sending dust flying everywhere. "And I'm sure Chrysie would too."
"That's not true." I stand up to move to her and console her. I unscrew the cap on the bottle of the soda, and promptly hand it to her. The bottle is roughly the size of her hand, so it's rather small. I decide to just let her have it.
She doesn't argue, and drinks it all in one swig.
"Chrysie is probably one of the most understanding people I know. She'll recognize you as soon as we find her, and I guarantee she won't be complaining. You're even more badass than you were before, and that's saying something. We're tough, sis. We'll get through this, no issue." I promise.
"Agh... Urp." Sighing, she tosses the bottle over some trees, never to be seen again. "Thanks. I... I needed that." She mumbles.
"What, the Mountain Dew ? I mean, it looked like you enjoyed it." I observe, raising an eyebrow.
Laughing she shakes her head.
"Yeah, sure. Totally wasn't listening to your little rant, I was too focused on drinking some shitty flavored soda." She chuckles.
In response, I simply roll my eyes.
Author's Note
Pre-Reader Acknowledgements;
give me a like now,
hit the dab
(Two rhymes spoken from Dr. Seuss's final dying breaths)
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