The Sun is rising. I can feel on my face and I can see from the ruined house's window and holes. The room around me was of course abandoned, I can see from the crumbly wall and empty room. It had a feeling of sadness and coldness, like every building there. Not a perfect place to hide or sleep, but we had no choice, cos the night came.
Night... Night, I mean the hell of darkness and damn monsters. How many times I saw ponies death in night... Their death cry and last breaths... I can hear them then, now and maybe in the future. But I strongly hope in the end of this day, I will never-ever hear them. I hope...
Hope. What a damn interesting word. This means so much things, but there, in the Zone, means nothing. Everypony who I met had no hope in the future, or had, but it slowly faded away... Like a candle in the rising darkness. It's the only light what you see, but it slowly fades away... Slowly, but you are without any light in the middle of the dark.
I had hope when I was came here somehow with my friends. We all had hope. But after somedays of the Zone, it died...
Died like the ponies who we met and trusted...
Back to me... I had hope, then I lost it, when my friends slowly and painfuly died... But then, like a thunder of light and warmness, I gain hope from a pony. From a special pony.
The pony is my candle in the night, my rock, my warmness in the cold, my hope. She is my only hope. She is why I am here and not dead in the middle of a abbandoned town.
Everything in the Zone has a feeling of coldness and loneless. Like you are in the middle of a dark forest, alone, where from every direction is some kind of danger source. You don't know what will happen, you can't be sure anything what you see or think. It's depressing. It's cold.
But now, I feel warmth.
My special pony, my only hope is sleeping on my chest. Peacefuly, like a little foal. Her long and beautiful pink mane lying on me and the ground. She is hugging me, so I too. We are cuddling, like she would say: cats, we cuddle like cats. Cute and hopeless cats in the middle of a nightmare.
The old me would not accept this, or really hardly... I would say: "I am not sappy, I have a cool reputation and I have to keep it! I can't cuddle, like a damn cat, I can't! I am the fastest pegasus in the world, not a cuddle pegasus!". Yeah, the old Dash... The unmature, coltish, never resting Rainbow Awesome Dash... Over the days, weeks or I don't how much time passed, but in that time, I have became a more mature mare then I was. But sadly, important and not important ponies died for my groving up... Ponies I knew for years... And ponies I met in the Zone... Too many died cos I was so selfish and childish... Too many pony...
I felt something moved on my chest. I heard a sleepish moan. She is awake.
"D-Dashie?" asked the awake mare with her cute and low voice.
Her voice. Oh my gosh her voice! It's best thing what my ears ever heard. This voice made me powerful, made me strong in the Zone. It's quiet, but for me is enough loud to make me live and fight.
"Good morning, Fluttershy!" I said quietly with a lovestruck smile on my face "Did you sleep well?"
"Yes..." then she snuggled to my neck and yawned like a filly.
I giggled loudly and stroked her long and soft hair. It's still soft after the Zone, like her soul. Her beautiful and care soul. It's like a diamond, which never get dirty.
I can feel her kisses on my neck. One careful kiss then another and another. This made me calm.
I leaned to her forehead and kissed it. This kiss was long and calm. I tried to comfort her with it. I heard her giggle. This cute giggle. Then she moved up a little bit and kissed me on the lips. Her lips are the softest things what I ever felt in my life. So tasteful, so good and so calm. It was like our first kiss with it's fire and love, which was under a emission in a cave, where we confessed our love and crush to each other. From that night I counted the days: it was 15 days ago... And our first love making was only 5 years ago in the same cave, but in morning and without emission. This 15 day gave me hope to belive the future with Fluttershy can be good.
The kiss lasted for one minute. Maybe two. I don't know. But we parted away to catch our breath. My eyes locked on her star beautiful eyes and her's too on mine.
Everything was quiet. Only the wind and birds made some kind of noise. But everything was quiet. Irritating, but calm silent.
After some seconds, Fluttershy turned her face to the right with a blush. Maybe she realised something or our cute moment made her embrassed. But then she said:
"Um... What is the time?"
"Early morning, I think... But maybe simple morning." I said calmly "Only five minutes of walking and we are at the border."
"O-oh, I see..."
"We can fly, y'know... But it's more dangerous cos what if something attacks without our weapon or bag... And I don't want to lose you, especially close to the border." I said a little bit of worry. I have to correct: with much worry. With the suit and bag it's like impossible to fly and it's easier to spot us anyway. I don't want Fluttershy's death. We are really close to escape from the Zone. We have to be careful and not rushy.
"Yes, um... You are right." I can hear the fear in her voice. Sadly, it's normal. She is really-really scared from the first day, then the next and after etc... Even when we came together, she scared from the Zone. And she does today. Plus the lost of our friends made her more shy, scared and depressive. Thats why we have to leave this place: for her, to make her happy and finally live peacefully.
"W-when we go?" she asked again.
"If you want now..." I said calmly and stroked her back with my left hoof "We are really close, Shy. Only minutes and we are at the border. And after it we will find the way to home, Shy." My smile not faded. I tried to comfort her as much as I can.
"Um... Then l-lead the way..."
Finally, we are at the rock fence, which was the border. Funny, that it's only a little rock fence between the Zone and the World, but nobody went throught it. I mean from the Zone to the World. Nobody before us...
"Finally, we are here! I cannot belive this..." I said happily.
The walk to the border luckly was peaceful: no monster or mutant and not any stranger crossed our way. The weather was like after a heavy rain with fog and wet, but with a little bit of sunshine. I don't know why, but in the Zone this weather is really normal. Almost every third day is raining or overclouding. Not a good place to live, but for thousands of ponies this place is their home. Wild, dangerous and deadly, but it's the new home for them.
"Yes!" said quietly Fluttershy with a big smile. I can't remember when was the last time I saw this smile from her, which was full of hope and love in the future. She is happy to leave this doomed place, as I am.
Maybe...
I turned back to see the panorama of the Zone: silent and dark green grass hills, after that was a ruined wooden house, where we slept the night. After it was a big pine forest, the trees was tall as the mountains. And of course the ruins of unknown cities and towns, which now are only ghosttowns, shame of their unknow past. Between all of this were anomalies and mighty artifacts. Everything has a big-big feeling of loneliness and depression. This place is very dangerous by the bloody monsters, damn anomalies and strangers. From everyside something wants to kill you...
But everything had some kind of charm. Yes, it's very dangerous and depressive, but somehow thousands of ponies lives there, because they want. They can die in any moment, but they want to live here. Like a trader said: "The stalkers are the prisoners of the Zone. Or more precisely they are obsessed to the Zone. They can escape, but they don't want. It's more like climbing the tallest mountain, swiming deeper and deeper in the deepest ocean or explore a new dangerous world. Why would we want to climb tall mountains? Why would somebody leave her calm and peaceful home to a adventure, where he can die very easily? To see what is it on the top. It's obsession. Of course who is not a climber will never understand it. But if you climb it to the top, you will understand why it was so worth. Or you think it's worth it. We can say that most of the things in the Zone is worthless. I mean why would somebody leave home for the Zone? To a place where a pony's life is worthless. Because the obsession. The pony climbed a mountain and on the top he felt the victory and the desire to conquer a bigger mountain. Yes, he can die in the next trip, but he will conquer the mountain, because he is obsessed to do it. And only death could end his desires..."
And the trader was right.
I was a possessed. I was obsessed with flying on full speed and doing tricks. I was the fastest pegasus in Equestria. Maybe I am now, but I am not sure about this anymore... Still, I really loved flying on deadly speed, making impossible and dangerous tricks. Everyday I tried to be faster and faster, to be better and better. I really loved the feeling of speed, I felt like I was the God of Thunder. Time to time, I injured. Not two, not three but more then twenty times I fell to the ground. I remember when my two wings broke and my half body was bloody. But after the hospital and rehabilitation, I dashed the sky again with full speed. Every day I was faster and faster, the Sonic Rainboom was a practice for me. But you know, at this big speed, a little mistake would kill you. I would have die very easily only by a small mistake. And why would I die for? For a stupid trick? For the feeling of speed and freedom? For my ego? Even I can't understand, but I know: I did it again and again, because I enjoyed it...
The trader was right. Sadly, Applejack had to kill her, because she betrayed me and my friends...
My good and... dead friends... Appeljack, Pinkie Pie, Twilight, Rarity...
I remember our very first day in the Zone:
Nobody knew how we got there. Nobody. I can't remember the past five or four day before the Zone. It's like they brainwashed my mind. We were all confused about the new wild world.
But luckly we were nearly to the Rookie Camp, where this traitor trader worked and many stalker lived. In this camp we met the trader, Old Sidora. She told everything what she knew about the Zone: from how it born by a unknown magic and what is it today... A place with damn monsters and obsessed stalkers, who are hunting for artifacts. Later she offered her help for us to escape from the Zone, but only if we do some jobs for her. She said if we do hers special jobs, then maybe we could find the map. Of course we accepted and trusted her. It was a big mistake...
We did most of the jobs, which was sometimes simple, like scout this area, get things from clients or dangerous like get some artifact or loot somebody... Every minute we learned: this place, the Zone, is merciless, wild, depressive, dark and dangerous. It's not a fun and happy place. Every hour or minute somebody dies with a loud cry, which we heard and made us scared... We saw ponies death, we saw wild monsters and we saw ponies fighting for artifacts or anything... Every minute we something new about the Zone, something sad and bad...
After some day, I don't remember when, but some wild dogs and wolfes attacked us in the Red Forest. I can remember how scared we was... I can remember Fluttershy crying on the ground... It was horrible...
Of course, we had somekind of weapons, like knifes, swords, guns etc... But there was too many mutant. Hardly, but we fought. Minutes of bloody figting, we were winning. The ground was full of dead dogs and blood.
But sudenly we heard a loud cry, like somebody cried from her pain. It was Rarity. Three dog, one on her neck, another on her flank and the third on her body bitten her. She tried to run away, to kick down the creatures, but she failed. Her body was full of blood and fresh scarfs. And then she crashed to the ground with the three dog...
Me and Applejack hurried to the dying pony, kicking away or killing the damn monsters. Thankfully the other idiots runned away. But... it was late...
Rarity lying on the ground, without life. She died. Her body was full of blood and cuts. The white became red, our soul from white became black. From that day everything is changed...
From that moment Pinkie Pie never smiled or was happy.
From that moment Twilight slowly became crazy.
From that moment Applejack became a depressive-not talking pony.
From that moment Fluttershy scared from everything, and I mean everything.
From that moment I have became an adult. I saw my friend's death. I saw the death. My whole life was about being cool, fast, awesome and happy. But now I saw something which I never before: a life's end. A very tragic and bad end. I learned that the life is not about being happy always. It's a damn lie that the life is always fun and good...
From that moment we lost the most important thing we had: the hope. We had a hope, that together we can find the way to home. Together we will go home. But after Rarity's death we lost every hope we ever had...
From that moment we have became stalkers, the hopeless, obsessed ponies in the Zone...
Again some days later we lost Twilight... She examined some lightning anomaly, for "science" and artifact. She was too close to it and suddenly the lightnings striked her to death...
After Twilight's burial, Applejack was out of her mind. For revenge, she hurried to the trader, who gave us many deadly jobs. Maybe Applejack blamed the trader for Twilight's and Rarity's death. She was out for one day. When she returned, her face and hoof was bloody. I knew what she done. But she had the map, what we needed. She said: The trader played with us... The bastard from the begining had the map...
Finally, we had the map. But nobody of us wanted to go away. We thought nothing would change, if we will leave or stay. Without Twilight or Rarity everything would be different in home... Our life is pointless without them. Why would we travel a long distance to die by the miss of our friends at home? It's pointles, like our life was then...
After one or two day, when Applejack walked alone - like most of the time after Rarity's death - some stalkers attacked her. We heard her and others loud cry, but when we hurried to Applejack, she was dead with two other pony. With hundreds of injuries on her body, lying on the bloody grass... Another shot to our black and hopeless soul...
And the bad things not ended here. After Applejack burial, somedays later we found Pinkie Pie dead in a wooden house, with a big cut on her neck and a bloody knife near her. Her whole neck was red, like the sun at dawn. She commited a suiced.
Only me and Fluttershy stayed alive. We both scared, especially my butterfly. We both was hopeless, especially me. Only me and Fluttershy.
From our first day in the Zone I defended her as much as I could. And then, after all of our friend's death, she cried on my chest everynight or half day. In our cave hide, she cried and I too sometimes. The memories of our friends and home made us cry. Day after day, we stayed here, comforting, hugging each other... Some hidden feelings escaped, which gave us a little hope. And this hope became stronger and stronger as we saw each other in a new way: in a romanic and love way...
This days was my best days in the Zone, or maybe in my life... So many kisses, so many hugs, so many cuddles and so many talk... I knew before I had special feelings to my number one flier and she had too... But in that days everything was clear, finally clear...
And now, I am here at the border with my Fluttershy. Only the one old rock fence stop us from freedom and home... From the Zone and Equestria...
One question still unanswered: what is the Zone? I mean yeah, there is too much dangerous and frickin things are, but what is it? Of course, it's not a normal place... It's something really different...
Many stalker said the Zone is a living creature. It's not like a pony or griffon, but something bigger and different. It's like a God, who controls everything in this place. And we are the stalkers are the viruses like, which the Zone wants to destroy it, like the immune system. They say that the wizards or magicans who made the disastrous magic are the Zone, like their souls are controlling the emissions, monsters and some stalkers.
Other stalkers said the Zone is a mythical place, where you can find your destiny, yourself or your true dream. It's really hard, and of course many pony dies before it, but they say it's worth it, cos you will know your life goal.
Some stalkers said the Zone is a fallen kingdom, with many treasure. And we, like pirates or treasure hunters are hunting for it and only our mind is playing with us.
And what I think? I don't know... It's really hard and I don't have a 100% answer... It's a unanswered question, y'know...
But what I know is in the Zone I grew up to a mature pony and I found my love. Sadly my four friend died for it...
"We gave to fly from here, Shy. Thrown everything what we don't need and be ready..." I said. My voice was broke, my eyes is watering. Memories of my friends and the thought we will never see them again, makes me weak and hopeless...
Sudenly Fluttershy came next to me silently. She snuggled to my body. When I turned, she leaned to me and kissed me on the lips. We both closed our eyes.
She is my hope, my candle in the darkness. She is my only hope.
