Nails in the Coffin

"So you're from a country called the United States of America," Twilight asked.

"Mhm."

"What kind of government do you have?"

"A democratic republic, but to be honest it's more like a power struggle between the two."

"Fascinating. I've read about those types of systems before, but I've never actually been somewhere where they're in effect."

"Well, get ready for a lot of arguing if you ever encounter them at the same time."

"Generally speaking, aren't republics more conservative while democracies are more liberal?"

"More or less."

"What about you? Where do you fall?"

"I guess I'm more of a conservative, but compared to some people I've met, I'm pretty moderate."

"Does the system work?"

"Depends on who you ask."

"That makes sense."

"How about you?"

"Well, you already know we live under a monarchy. Somehow our princesses remain uncorrupted by power. There's really no need for different opinions if we're happy with what we have."

"I'm a little bit jealous."

"What for?"

"No matter what governmental body is in place, human evil always finds a way to ruin it."

"How evil are humans if you put them next to us?"

"This looks like paradise."

"Is it really that bad?"

"That's putting it mildly."

"Yeesh."

"Are you evil," Spike suddenly spoke.

"Spike, that's rude," Twilight scolded.

"Don't worry about it. In a way, I probably am."

"You don't look evil."

"Looks can be deceiving."

"I know, but you haven't attacked anypony yet. That's enough reason for us to trust you."

"Wish I could feel the same about everyone else."

"Do you wanna' talk about it?"

"Can't. It's work-related stuff."

"Right; classified."

"Sorry."

"Don't worry about it."

The trio walked on for an unknown amount of time until they reached Sweet Apple Acres. Twilight was going to introduce Leon to her friends so he could become more familiar with their professions and the layout of the land.

"Applejack!"

"Hey Twi!"

Applejack noticed the tall figure standing with her friends.

"Woo wee! Who's the hot stuff?"

"Name's Leon Kennedy. Nice to meet you," Leon responded stoically, trying to ignore the fact that a pony just called him hot.

"Well, Leon, I'm Applejack! You can call me AJ for short."

"Applejack and her family farm the area around here, Leon," Twilight informed him.

"Is that right?"

"Say, why don't ya'll come in for some sweet apple cider?"

"Don't put any alcohol in Leon's. He's still recovering from a binge."

Normally, Leon would've protested, but because he wasn't currently in the aftermath of a severe incident, he let it go. He followed them into Applejack's house.

"This here's my brother, Big Macintosh."

"Howdy," was all that came from the red stallion's mouth.

"Apple Bloom, say hi."

A small yellow filly emerged from behind Big Macintosh.

"Hey, Mr.," she said nervously.

"It's okay, Apple Bloom," Spike assured her, "Leon's a nice guy."

"Granny Smith is in the other room. I'll go fix up your cider and we'll drink it in there."

Applejack left the room, and everyone else exchanged words.

"Why are ya' wearin' a jacket," Apple Bloom asked, "It's summer. Ain't ya' warm?"

"It helps if I have to go somewhere with air conditioning or cold water."

"What's air conditioning?"

"Oh yeah. You guys don't have that yet. Maybe I can help. I could be stuck here for a while anyway."

"That sounds good," Twilight agreed.

"Cider's up!"

Everyone moved to the other room.

"You look pretty strong and healthy, youngin'," Granny Smith verbally noted, "Maybe we could get your help around here."

"Now Granny, Leon just got here. He needs to figure out where he's gonna' stay first."

"I actually thought about that already. I don't suppose you have any money on you, do you Leon," Twilight inquired.

"I doubt paper money would be any good here anyway."

"If I lend you a few bits, you can stay at an inn. Would that work?"

"I think I can manage that."

"Great."

The rest of the visit would just be small chatter. Leon, Twilight, and Spike left after about an hour to see the rest of the town.

Meeting the rest of Twilight's friends didn't take very long. Some of the places they visited helped Leon discover where to purchase food and clothing when he could scrounge up enough money to afford them. He noticed that there wasn't much shock when they saw him, probably because of Lyra's constant mention of the human species. He made a mental note to track down Lyra when he had the time.

"Well, that's about everypony I wanted you to meet. This is the inn," Twilight said as she pointed to a small wooden building that stood firm next to them.

"Thanks. I'm pretty much done for anyway. Hopefully you guys don't drink as excessively as I do."

"Some of us don't even drink at all."

"I don't normally talk about my personal history, but I feel like I can trust you enough to tell you the truth. Before the incident that forced me into government service, I'd already been drinking too much for my own good. The day before the viral outbreak, my ex-girlfriend broke up with me, so I got hammered and showed up late for my first day as a police officer."

"Viral outbreak? You can't mean zombies, right?"

"You're pretty sharp. Those are the easiest monsters to deal with I've been up against so far."

"How large was the outbreak?"

"The entire city was completely wiped out. The United States government ultimately erased the city from existence to contain it."

"And you barely managed to escape in time?"

"More or less."

"My Celestia. That must've been a shock to you."

"My personality completely changed, and I was forced into joining the security branch of the government."

"You weren't given a choice?"

"They didn't want me going around and telling everybody what happened. They covered up the truth. I've been their lapdog ever since."

"Were you the only survivor?"

"There were four of us; Me, Claire Redfield, Sherry Birkin, and Ada Wong. Ada vanished for six years after that. She showed up again in 2004 when I was sent to rescue the president's daughter. She makes a habit of vanishing for a few years."

"The original outbreak must've been around 1998 then, right?"

"Yeah."

"What year is it now in your world?"

"It's December of 2012."

"So you've been fighting for over 14 years."

"..."

"I get what your job is about now. You're fighting stronger and stronger versions of the virus. It sounds tough."

"Your dragon friend here's muscle analysis was well-founded. I've been training ever since the original outbreak."

"I won't ask any more questions."

"Not like the government can do anything to me here, anyway."

"We'll let you rest for the night."

"Thanks for bringing me here."

"No problem."

Leon parted ways with Twilight and Spike.

"I'm pretty popular with the ladies here. It's creepy..."

There was a knock on the room door.

"Who's there."

"It's Spike, Leon."

"Come in, kid."

Spike opened the door. He was wearing a dark grey hoodie with a tinge of blue.

"There's not much time. I snuck out to warn you about something."

"Great. Something else is about to go wrong, isn't it?"

"More like it's already gone wrong a bunch of times."

"Come again?"

"Go around town tomorrow and examine the ground. You'll know what I mean."

"What!?"

"Sorry, there's no time to explain. I have to go."

Spike ran out of the room so he could rush home.

"Why do I get the feeling there's something really off about this place now?"