The Outbreakby Micro-songChaptersThe SpreadThe MissingTragedy befalling'Minor' ComplicationsA Qwick SaveThe SpreadAuthor's Note Hello! The Spread MetalSmith. You ask him to do something, and it'll be done. Thats why he's loved by his boss. He's the only Pegasus in the train yard who can get work done faster than a unicorn. "SMITH!" His name blasted from the P.A. system. Upon hearing his name he turns off his welder and lifts his visor. Hanging the Oxyacytiline torch he was just using on the bottles, he takes off the visor aswell. Able to see easier, he looks up at the boss's office, and the blue stallion waves him up. "Coming!" He yells, knowing completely well that his boss can't hear him. The stairs that went up to the train yard Foreman's office were clear on the other side of the building. Meaning Metalsmith had to dodge all the other workers to get there. But No flying. The office had a strap that can only be taken off by a guard with a certain key. The foreman had them made to prevent any accedents from a flying Pegasus. Being a welder, his coat and face had scorch marks from the slag that would fly up and hit him. Even if he wore a mask, they would still find their way under. When he was younger, his mother would always compliment him on his perfect bark Brown coat. Or his black mane. But those compliments stopped once he went into this field. He knew he was going to be a welder once the torch Cutie Mark popped up. He thanks the welding class in school for that. BUMP! MetalSmith kicks the bottom step, lost in thought. Shaking his head bringing himself break to reality, he starts up the steps. 56 steps. He's counted a multitude of times. 53 54 55 56 Smith reaches the top. Walking over to the door, he knocks. "Come on in!" Complying, he turns the knob and swings the door inward. Walking in, the door automatically closing behind him. Directly across from Smith was his boss, Foreman. Foreman's office is extremely bland. No pictures of family members. Nothing to show he has any life outside the office aside from the Celestia bobble head on his desk. "You called me? Boss?" "Yes!" The blue stallion says, turning around from the window and looking at Smith. Metal walks over to the desk and sits in the client chair. Foreman sits in his chair across the desk from Smith. "I wanted you to talk about your tendency to finish stuff early." Foreman tells him. And is responded with a confused look. "Don't get me wrong. I love it! It's great! But I'm afraid it's too great. Ponies over at the main yard, the one in Canterlot, want you." "Oh. I can't go there, I live here. My family is here. I can't make that commute." Metal tells him. Foreman nods. "I know. That's why I told them no. But I'll only be able to do that for so long before they start screwing up my yard." "What do you mean?" "They'll start firing ponies at random, stop the steady flow of materials. They'll basicly shut me down." Foreman says, slamming his hoof on the desk angrely. "All because they want me?" "All because they want you." He nods. "Dammit... Mabey, I could screw something up. Then they won't want me. You have anything I could screw up without damaging The company?" Smith asks. Foreman shakes his head. "No, all I have is essential. Don't worry, I'll work something out with them." He says, standing up. Metalsmith hops out of his chair and walks towards the door, Foreman behind him. "Thanks boss." Metal says, opening the door. Foreman nods. Metal walks through the door and starts to close it, but Foreman stops it before it closes all the way. " Smith." "Yes boss?" "Celestia smile on your family." He says. "Thank you, sir." With that, the door closes. "Smith!" A voice behind him yells. He lifts the torch then his visor. He turns around to see why his name was yelled. An H beam suspended by one wire is swinging towards him. Tossing the still burning torch and diving out of the way, the front end of the beam slams into the train car he was working on. The back end of the beam swinging away from Smith, hitting his gas bottles. The acetylene bottle knocked over and the cap being broken off. Landing next to the burning torch. "IT'S GONNA-" Smith's cut off by the ear splintering boom of the acetylene gas combusting. The flash and noise disorienting Metalsmith and the others around him. Taking deep breaths and rubbing his eyes, Smith manages to get his heart rate and sight back. He looks up at where the beam came from just in time to see Ironsmith, another welder and lifelong friend, get his throat torn out by Lumberjack. Or, what he thought was lumberjack. Still unable to hear from the explosion, he gets up and runs up the scaffolding stairs. Getting to the top end of the scaffolding, he looks over at where Ironsmith was. He's dead on the ground, his intestines bring torn out and eaten by.... Something that's not lumberjack anymore. "Hey!!" Metal yells at the thing. It turns it's head slowly to look at him. Looking it in the eyes, Smith sees that it's eyes aren't normal. They're glazed over. The eyes of a dead pony. Putting it's front hooves into the carcass of Metal's friend to push itself up. Stumbling while it Turns around, it starts limping towards Metalsmith. While it slowly makes its way towards him, he notices another thing off. It's missing half of it's face. Surrounding the wound is what looks like tares and bite marks. It sounds odd. The breathing raspy and liquidey. Like breathing in and out with mucus in the way. "L-Lumberjack! Hey! It's Metalsmith." He yells at it, hoping it's just some horrible joke. But the creature just keeps walking. Closer and closer. "Dammit..." Smith says, running back down the scaffolding. Stopping quickly, he see his boss in his office, looking through the glass, concerned. But not daring to come down. The whole shop was in chaos. Things falling, others yelling. Walking carefully to the stairs, Smith sees others knocking down the things. Some using pipe wrenches. Some using just pipes. Doing their damndest to defend themselves. Seeing a Pegasus he decides that the wing restraints were a good idea after all. Looking ahead he beelined it to the stairs. 55 56 Sprinting over to his boss's office and rushing through the door. Slamming it closed behind him. "What the hell is going on!?" Metal yells. Foreman turns around. "I have no idea. But we need to get the hell out of here." He says, somehow calm. "Boss! You have a key to these damn things! Please take it off!" He shouts, running over to the desk. Swollowing nervously, Foreman nods. He walks over to his desk and opens the top drawer. Taking it between his teeth he walks over to Metal. Placing the key in the lock, turning it and the strap falls to the floor. Stretching his wings he smirks. "Now we can properly get the hell out of h-" Smith's cut off by the sound of the creatures slamming themselves into door. Looking back in time to see a horn puncture through the door. Soon blood running down the horn. Smith guesses it pulled the horn right out of its head. "Damn! The window!" Foreman yells. Turning to his desk he picks up the bobblehead in his teeth. He whips around violently, letting the bobblehead fly from his mouth and break the window. Smith runs over. "Go Smith! I'll keep these Luna damned things back. Get to your family." Foreman tells him. "No! Sir, I can carry you!" "No! I'd just weigh you down!" Foreman tells him, going to the door. "Sir! What about y-" "FUCKING GO!" The blue stallion opens the door. Three of the creatures come in. One having a gaping hole where the horn used to be. "Go dammit!!! FUCKING GET OUT OF HERE!!" Coming back to reality, Smith turns around and runs to the window. Guilt washing through him he turns back around. The only other unicorn thing's horn is glowing. Looking over to his former boss, he sees one of his back legs glowing the same deathly black. Foreman trys tugging at his limb, only to hear a loud pop in return. Foreman yells In pain, but continues tugging. Soon snapping can be heard, and flesh tearing. Foreman's leg stringily tearing off. Holding down his lunch, Smith turns back around and this time jumping out the window, extending his wings. Dodging the equipment hanging from the ceiling. Managing to stay high enough, out of the sight of the unicorns. Looking for a way out, his eyes manage to settle on the window on the other side of the shop. Thanking Celestia it was a high window, he heads straight for it. Getting close, Smith tucks his wings against his body, squeezes his eyes shut and sticks his front hooves out. A quick second later he feels the glass break against his hooves. Soon enough he's outside. Opening his eyes and extending his wings, he sees smoke rising into the hazy Manehattan sky. Looking down he sees a whole bunch of the things swarming the shop. Looking out ahead, he can barely make out the apartment building where his wife and son will be. "I'm gonna find you. I love you both." Halfway there. Smith is halfway to the building. Flying over a hoofball stadium he notices something odd. The ground seems to be moving. Until a whole bunch of them take flight. Soaring right at him with deadly speed. A whole new shot of adrenaline sent Metalsmith twice as fast forward. Looking around desperately for a building to dodge into. The creatures gaining, he manages to see what he's looking for. In the woods that separated the hoofball stadium from the city was a small shack. Closing his wings he dives towards a stack of hay. Hitting it hard. Black. The smell of cooking meat woke Metalsmith. Jerking up, resisting the urge to throw up again, he looks over at the source. On his right were Two Griffons sitting around a hearth. Cast iron pot hanging above the stove. He moved all of his appendiges to make sure what he smelled wasn't him. All six limbs present. "Look who's awake!" Smith looked to his left to see another griffon sitting aside him. "Where am I?" Smith cautiously says, sitting up. The other two Griffons turn around to look at him. "You're in our little cottage." The one on his left says. "You took quite a hit. What were you thinking?" The one on the right of the two by the hearth says. Smith turns and gets out of the cot. Once on four hooves, Smith speaks. "I was thinking of getting away from a flock of creatures." "Creatures? You mean the Trotters?" The left one by the hearth asks. Smith nods. "I guess." Long pause. "Wait... How long have I been out?" "A day." The one left of the cot says. "A DAY!?" They all nod. "I need to get to my family!" He shouts, running towards the door. The griffon that was left of the cot runs to the door, blocking Smith from leaving. "Now hold on. You leave and you walk right into a swarm of the flying Trotters. Best we wait it out." "I need t-" "He's right." The female says, walking over to him. "Doesn't matter how urgent you gotta go to is. You leave now, and your dead in seconds." Smith looks from her, to the one still at the hearth, then to the one at the door. He growls angrely. "Fine!" He shouts, then stomps back over to the cot. The female snickers, walking over to Smith. "I'm Gabby, by the way. That there is Tristan." She says, pointing to the one by the hearth. "And he's Cameron." Another claw goes in the direction of the one still by the door. "And what's your name? Mysterious stallion?" She giggles. "The name's Metalsmith." "Okay, looks their clear." Cameron says, looking out the slightly open door. Metal jumps up from the cot and runs over to the door. "Okay, well than. Looks your free to go." Gabby tells Smith, walking over to him. He looks over to her and she smiles. "Wish me luck." He says, dread obvious in his voice. "Remember, the flyers look up. You see a group of them, drop to the ground and walk your way around them. Otherwise your screwed." Tristan says, still over by the hearth. "Thank you. All three of you. You sure you don't want to come with me?" Smith asks them. They all nod. "We're sure. Better us stay here. We've got food and shelter." Cameron says, looking out the door again. "Tell ya what." Gabby says, getting a bit closer. "If you find your family. Come back here. Even if you don't. You got three more friends who could help ya along." She gives him a reassuring smile. "Thank you." He looks down. Breathing deeply he turns to the door. "I'm ready." "Your ready?" "I'm ready." He nods. Cameron nods back. Putting his right talon on the door, he turns the nob. Swinging the door open, Smith runs through, extending his wings. Flying high into the sky. He looks over to the apartment building in the distance. "I'm coming Swift." The MissingAuthor's Note GUTENTAG! (I hope that's how you spell it ) The Missing 'watch out for the flyers' The advice from the Griffons rang in MetalSmith's head. 'They look up... Drop to the ground and find a way around them.' And that's exactly what he's doing. Soon after leaving the cottage of Gabby, Cameron, and Tristan, he came upon another group of exactly what he was hoping to avoid. Flyers. This time they were grouped up in the streets of Manehatten. Hundreds, mabey thousands, of these flying monsters that took away MetalSmith's primary method of transportation. Stepping carefully, trying to reduce noise, Smith makes his way down an abandoned sidewalk. Three more blocks. Turning the corner of an office building, then continuing forward. He can see his destination. Two more blocks. He can hear them. There must be at least fifty of them. Their breathing is distinct. Smith peeks around the corner of the street then bolts across it. One more block. Walking in front of the apartment building across from his, then reaching the corner. "Please, Celestia, let there be like, two." He preys. Sticking his head around the corner he sees exactly what he didn't want to see. A horde. Ducking back behind the building he takes a deep breath. If his apartment building isn't locked than he could make it in with ease. But if it's locked he'll have to fly up and break through a window. Now or never. He bolts for the other sidewalk. Bad timing. A unicorn walks from the croud and spots Smith. The unicorn snarls loudly, it's horn glowing a death black. Smith feels the resistance on his back leg emediatly. He instinctively pulls on his leg. To no avail. POP! The sound of his leg dislocating. Screaming in pain, Smith collapses, unable to move. The scream causing the other Trotters look and start his way. CRACK!! Looking up in time to see the unicorn's head explode, releasing the grip on his leg. Using his three good legs he hoists himself up. CRACK!!! The blood and brain of the closest Trotter now decorated the street. Smith limped towards his building. Twenty yards. CRACK!!! Another Trotter down. "Almost there!" Smith tells himself. Dragging his dislocated leg behind him, he reaches the door. Bringing a hoof up and placing it on the door, MetalSmith pushes as hard as he can. The door says closed. Extending his wings and looking up, trying to see his window, MetalSmith is stopped by the sound of the door unlocking and swinging open. "Come on!" A mare yells. Complying, he hurries in as fast as his three legs will carry him. CRACK!!! The bullet wizzes by and breaks something further in the lobby. Flattening her ears, the mare pulls out a radio. "Hey!!! Watch it Sharp!" She yells into the radio. "That was to close." Putting the radio away and ushering Smith the rest of the way in, she closes and locks the door again. Turning around, Smith watches an earth pony Trotter turn around and start bucking the doors with it's back hooves. Startled, the mare that saved him shrieks a bit. Shaking her head she runs forward. "Come on! Let's get higher." she tells Smith, running towards the stairs. Untucking his wings, Smith flaps, beginning to hover, bringing the weight off his unusable limb. Making it down the hallway connected to the lobby, the mystery mare opens the stairway door. Smith flys through, followed by mystery trotting through. "Fifth floor!" She yells to Smith. He flies up, making a short trip. But the mare took a bit, being a unicorn. Once she made it up to the door, she opened it, letting Smith through. With both through, she closed the for again, watching Smith set down. "Yo! Sorter!" She yells. A stallion appears from the further hallway. "Who's this!?" The unicorn shouts, a pistol floating at his side. "I don't know." She replies, looking at Smith. "But Sharp saved him. That's not something he normally does, so I thought I'd help him out." Sorter nickers, then motions to them. "Come on. Doc's over here." He says, then walks back from where he came. Smith looks at the mare curiously. She motions to him, saying to follow her. He nods as she starts to walk. "Thank you, for opening the door." Smith says, limping behind her. "Yea. Now, let's get that leg fixed so you can be on your way." She says, opening the door to another apartment. Limping his way in, Smith noticed the room was empty. Save for dining table. But he stayed silent as she led him through. Soon enough they reached a curtain. Brushing it aside, the mare stood still. Telling Smith to go on through. Nodding, he limped his way into the room. A few cots here and there. Some occupied by sleeping stallions and mares. A few empty. Across the room, sitting at a desk, was a white coated and blue maned stallion. Behind him, Smith heard the mare whistle, causing the stallion to turn around. "Yes?" He asks, standing up and walking over. His Cutie Mark a red plus sign. "Fix him up so he can be on his way." She says, then walks away. The doctor turns to MetalSmith and looks up and down him. Seeing the limp limb, the doc tsks. "What'd you do?" He asks. "I had a run in with a unicorn Trotter." Smith responds, a bit uncomfortable with how close the doctor is getting. The doctor turns around and walks over to an empty cot. "Please sit here. What's your name?" He asks, pointing to the cot in front of him. Smith walks over and sits, causing a serge of pain up his side. "MetalSmith." He groans. The doctor nods then places his hooves on Smith's thighs. "Hey! Watch it!" Smith says. "It's either I do this and help you. Or to drag around a dislocated back leg." Smith shuts up. The doctor puts his hooves on Smith's left hip. Feeling the dislocation. "Okay, it's right here. I'm going to have to pop it back in." He says to Smith. "Lilac!! Please come in here!" He shouts. The same mare who saved Smith walks in. "Yea doc?" She asks, making her way over to them. "Hold his back please. And push on him when I say." The doc says to Lilac. She nods. Turning around the doctor grabs a rope. He turns back around to Metal and tells him to put it in his mouth. "We don't want you biting a hole in your cheek. Or to bite your tongue off." Lilac informs him. Metal nods, biting down on the rope. "You ready?" The doctor asks. Smith nods. "One, two, three." POP "Which one of you is in charge?" Metal asks from the cot. A camoflauge stallion walks in. "Name's Camo. Now who the HELL let you in!?" He yells, a holster on his front left leg. "I did." Lilac says, stepping out from behind the doctor. "Lilac! Don-" "It's fine, Doc." She says, cutting him off. "Who gave you authority to let in strangers!?" Camo shouts, stepping closer to Lilac. "He was being attacked by the horde outside. Sharp killed a unicorn who was taking this one's leg." She points to Metal when saying 'this one.' Camo Huff's, then turns to Smith. "What the hell do you need before you go!?" He asks angrely. To answer the question, Smith crawls off the cot and stand up, walking over to Camo. "I need nothing from you. But what I do need it's access to the fifteenth floor. My a-" "Woah, hold it. You say fifteenth floor?" Camo asks, cutting Smith of. Metal just nods with annoyance. "Yes. That's where my apartment is. I'm looking for my family." MetalSmith tells Camo. Camo just whistles. "That's someplace nopony goes. And onypony who was there is dead." He tells MetalSmith."place is overrun with Trotters. Since the rocket hit the side of the building, the flyers took the place over." MetalSmith sighs, hanging his head. "Could you give me some kind of weapon? I need to get up there. I doubt my family is there, but mabey my wife left some kind of message. Where she's going." And I need my guns. He didn't say that out loud. "Like I said, nopo-" "I'm going up there weather you like it or not. It just comes down to weather your sending a pony to his death, or your going to give him a fighting chance." Smith says, Stone Cold expression on his face. Camo stares at Smith for a bit, then growls again. He turns around and starts to walk out the room. "Somepony give this suicider a knife." MetalSmith and Lilac walk up to the fifteenth floor door. Camo decided to give Smith a machete, their only one. On the condition that they get it back. Lilac went with Metal, she felt obligated to help him. "You ready?" Lilac asks, putting her hoof on the door nob. Smith nods, machete in his mouth. "Remember, sound brings 'em to you. And killing one makes the others aggressive." She says, then pushes on the door firmly. It gives some resistance, but budges. Opening with a loud CREAK! Wincing, the ponies in the door peer into the darkness. Nothing moves, nothing wheezes. It's as if nothing is there. Stepping forward carefully, the two make their way into the pitch dark hallway. Smith remembers when he left this same hallway at the beginning of the week. ----------Flashback--------- "I hope you can stand yourself!" Swift shouts sarcastically. It's another fight between the supposed to be happily ever after couple. "Honey! It's my job. I have to do this!" Smith yells, even if he and Swift are in their room, door closed, their son can hear them. "You don't have to leave every Monday and return every Friday! All we get is two days with you. Then your gone again! Think about Jack! It's not fair to your son that you're gone five out of seven days!" She yells. Smith turns around and closes his suitcase. "I do have to do this. It's not my responsibility to get you off your lazy flank and find a job. So I will work. And I will provide for this family. Now, despite that I'm loving this conversation, I'm late already. Have a nice week, Swift." Smith says, contempt filling his voice. Swift had nothing left to say. The snarl. It's not easily mistaken. And it sounds as if Camo was right. The snarling was loud and had a ton of bodies taking part in it. "Shit..." Smith says to himself. They continue to walk until stopping at a corner. The Trotters are right around the corner. "Where is your place?" Lilac asks from behind Smith. "Id prefer a dinner first, darlin'." Smith says over his shoulder. Swift's silence shows Smith her lack of enjoyment in the joke. "It's in this hallway." "Convenient." She sighs, walking over to Smith's side. "I can light the hallway so you can find it. But only for a small amount of time. The Trotter's eyesight sucks, but not enough." "Okay. Well, now or never." He says, sighing. Nodding, Lilac's horn glows red, enough for the two to see. Turning into the hallway, they see the bunch of Trotters. Smith's eyes scanned the hallway until he could make out the numbers on the door. "There." He points. Lilac nods, killing the light. "Remember." Lilac whispers. "It's sound." Smith nods to himself, then quietly walks towards his door. His jaw tightening around the machete every time the floor creaked under his or Lilac's hoof. BUMP! Smith hits his head on the door. Lilac running into his flank. "Go! Quickly!" She whispers. The snarling getting slightly louder. Not wanting to draw any more attention, Smith doesn't respond to Lilac, instead he opens the door. Light floods into the hallway. Panicking, MetalSmith runs into the room along with Lilac, then slams the door shut. Both panting from adrenaline. "Dammit." Smith wheezes out. "Well, better hurry up and get what you need. Looks like we're leaving through the hole in the wall anyway." She says, pointing to the giant hole taking up half of the room. And most of the adjoining apartment. Smith nods, looking around his wrecked former home. The couch overturned, mail and other papers stuck and matted to the floor. Holes from both magic and hooves scattered the walls. Plates and cups shattered around. The rug slightly torn up from the floor. "Somepony had a fit." Lilac giggles, observing the destruction. "Yeah, Swift had a temper." MetalSmith says sadly. 'I wonder if it's still there.' he thinks to himself. Turning to the hallway, Smith makes the machete at home in the sheath on his left side. Walking down the hallway he catches a glimpse at his son's bedroom. Not wanting emotions to hit him, he continues to his and Swift's room. Entering The room, sees his mattress, but not the pictures on the walls. Or some of the decorative hairlooms. Thanking Celestia that his wife and son got out of there, he heads for the bedside cabinet. Sitting on his haunches, Smith breaths deeply. 'please Celestia. Let it still be here.' Closing his eyes, he swings the doors open. Opening his eyes he sees it. 44 Mag. Still in is forearm holster. Smirking, he picks it up with his hooves. Looking it over, he sees the name he gave it carved into the wood mouthpiece. ' LIL RELIABLE '. Placing the holster into his right foreleg, he heard Lilac holler from what's left of the living room. "MetalSmith! I think this is for you!" Curious, he gets up and makes his way over. Walking into the living room, he looks at Lilac on the corrected couch. He heads over to her. "I found this on the counter." She says, pointing to the note on the couch. Smith trots over and reads it. MetalSmith, Please, make your way to Canterlot. Celestia is taking ponies in at the castle. Hurry and she might t The wall just blew up. Jack fell. Rebar pierced him. He's snarling now. I need to go to Canterlot. "Hey. We need to get going. You've been sitting there for a good half hour. Let's go." Lilac tells him. Smith wipes his face of tears and nods. He gets up from his laying position and walks over to the hole in the wall. "Come on." Metal says in a surprisingly neutral tone. "I'll carry you." Lilac nods and walks over. Smith extends his wings and jumps into the air. Lilac walks over so she's directly under him. Lowering some, Smith puts his forelegs around her body and pulls her up. Adjusting until he's satisfied he won't drop her, he starts to fly out. Once clear of the building he turns around to watch the building on the way down. Then, one floor down, he spots it. A bloody piece of rebar sticking up from the concrete wall. The green and orange colt Smith knows as his son, at the base of the rebar, snarling and growling. Tears breaking from MetalSmith's eyes. Lilac falls. Tragedy befalling"METALSMITH!!!!" Lilac screams, terror shooting through her as the ground is closing in fast. Smith stares at the body of his son. "METALSMITH!!!" She screams again, this time getting him to hear her. He looks down at her. Realizing what's happening, dives down after her. She's getting closer to the ground. 30 meters. 20 meters. Almost there! 10 meters. He feels his hoof brush against her mane. THUD! To prevent himself from meeting the same fate, he angles his wings and flys close to the ground. Flying up and back, he slows down. Landing and tucking his wings, he walks over to the body of Lilac. "Lilac?" He asks, walking up to her. He shakes her. "Lilac?" He says again. She's dead. He killed her... Falling into his flank, he starts breaking down. First his son, and now he's just committed murder. She was a nice mare too. He hasn't been out here for more then two days and the world's already thrown him into hell. That snarl. One is close. "No... I can't. Not n-" he looks up, and sees Lilac starting to get up. "Thank Celestia! Your not d-" he stops when he sees her eyes. Their clouded and sunk in. Then, he notices the front of her head is smashed in where she hit the ground. It tries to get up, but the limbs are broken at the joints, causing it to fall back over. "Dear Celestia... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Smith says, tears falling free mindedly. Feeling extremely guilty, he slowly grabs the machete. Walking over to her, he places the blade above her head. Below him, she's snarling and snapping at air. The broken, compressed muzzle causing blood to fly when she snaps. Reaching for him with her broken limbs. Smith holds the machete just above her head, tears running down his muzzle. Thunk. CRACK! The bullet hits before he heard the shot. Flinching and jumping back, Smith looks for where the shot came from. "It must be that s-" WIZZ! CRACK! The bullet wizzes by his head, causing him to yell. Jumping up and putting the machete away, he jumps into the air. Grabbing the body of Lilac, he flys towards where he entered the building. Reaching it, he sets down Lilac, then lands himself. Rapping on the glass door, hoping to get somepony's attention. SMASH! CRACK! The bullet wizzes by his head again, smashing the glass enough for Smith the break it the rest of the way. Throwing Lilac's body on his back, he enters the building, heading towards the stairwell. Opening the door, he runs up the stairwell, heading for floor five. He makes it and bursts through. "Doc!" Smith shouts, running through the different rooms until he makes it to the doc's room. Seeing the doctor in the chair, he slows down. "I'm so sorry..." The doctor turns around to look at him. "What do you..... Lilac!" He shouts, jumping up and running over to him. "What the hell happened!?" He yells, taking her off Smith's back. "S-she fell... Off the fifteenth floor." Metal struggles to lie. "That doesn't explain the bullet." The doctor says, pulling out the slug with his magic. "It was the.... S-sniper... She was already a.... A..." "Trotter?" The doctor finishes. Smith nods. The doctor sighs. "I'm going to ask you to leave. Camo won't be as forgiving." Smith looks at him. "What!?" "Go! Leave! Camo WILL kill you!" The doctor yells. Smith starts to panic, turning around, he runs out. Making it to the room with the dining table. "Hey!" Somepony yells, making Smith stop. Turning back around to look where he came from, In the doorway stood Camo. Camo reaches his head down and grabs the mouthgun in the holster. Not wanting to get shot, MetalSmith twists around and bolts for the stairway door. CRACK! Camo fires off the gun, barely missing Smith. Metal opens the doorway, runs through, then closes the door. crack! Although muffled, he could still hear it. Rip! The bullet broke through the door and hit Smith in the leg, causing him to stumble and fall down the stairs. Hitting his head on the way down. ---------FLASHBACK--------- "It's not everyday you get a promotion! You're going to be the head welder at the train yard! Don't tell me your not excited!" Swift says, gently pushing on MetalSmith with a hoof. Sighing, he stands up from the couch and walks over to the window, looking out in the direction his shop is. "I am happy. I am excited. My pay will double. It's just that..." He stops with a sigh, then turns back to his wife. "I'll have to stay there on weekdays. I'll have to sleep in their dormitory. And besides, you'll only see me on weekends instead of everyday." He tells her. "That's fine! I promise, after a few months, we'll be able to afford something way better than this little apartment in a crowded city. We'll be able to move out into the country and be frontier ponies." Swift says, punctuating her statement with a giggle. Smith sighs, walking over to her. "Sorry honey, but you still can't use a can opener. I doubt you could survive out there." He says, finishing their debate with a kiss. -------PRESENT DAY------- Gasping for air, Smith wakes up with a jerk, sitting up in the alleyway. Looking over himself, he takes note of the bullet wound in his hind left leg. No other injuries except, probably, a concussion. Looking at his gun, he wonders why the others didn't take it. Shrugging to himself, he stands up and shakes off. Pain needling up his shot leg. Wincing, he walks out the alley, knowing he needs to get the leg taken care of. 'the Griffons!' he thinks to himself, taking to the sky. But he can't get to far with a wound like that. The flying well pump the blood right out of him. He needs to make it quick. Without exerting himself. While still in the air, he takes off the holster and places it over the wound, wincing. Then, he tightens it down, making the holster keep continued pressure on the wound. Flying higher, he looks out where the Griffon's cabin is. Smith lands in front of the cabin door, staggering once hitting the ground. Even with that makeshift tourniquet the he lost quite a bit of blood. Doing his best, he leans against the door and knocks. With no response, be knocks harder. Knowing that if he waited any longer that he would be dead for sure, he opened the door, falling into the cabin. Waking Gabby. "Who's t- MetalSmith!" She shouts, jumping up from the cot and sprinting over. Using a clawed hand, she lifts him up onto her back and brings him over to the cot. He falls into it with an 'oof'. Gabby removes the holster to see the bleeding wound. She tsks at the unconscious stallion. "Let's get you fixed up." ------FLASHBACK------ "Jack." Smith says, knocking on son's door. "Jack, come on. I'll see you this Saturday." Hearing nothing from his son, he opens the door. "Jack?" "What, dad?" Jack responds, looking up from a book. "Did you hear anything I said?" Smith asks, walking in and reshutting the door. "Yeah, you'll be gone this week but back on the weekend only to leave again. I got it." He responds coldly, looking back to his book. Smith walks over. "I have to. Soon we'll be able to get out of this little apartment. We can get our own house. We won't have to move ever again!" Smith says, trying to get his son to join in his enthusiasm. "Yeah, we won't move again. Until the world ends." ----------PRESENT DAY---------- MetalSmith groans, turning over to the direction of the heat source, struggling to opened his eyes. Once his eyes open, they go from cross-eyed and blurry, to normal and clear. "We've really got to stop meeting like this, MetalSmith." Gabby says, sitting by the fire. She smiles as Smith gets out of the cot. Placing his hooves on the floor, he attempts to stand up. But once the weight is on his hooves he falls down. "Dammit!" Gabby curses, standing up and running over to him, picking him up off the floor. "Careful, you lost a lot of blood. It's a miracle you made it here." "W-what happened?" Smith asks, laying back into the cot. "Well, as far as I can tell, you were shot. Almost died from blood loss. And just now fell on your face." She says, laughing slightly. Smith looks away embarrassedly. Recalling that there are supposed to be two more Griffons, he looks back at her. "What happened to the other two?" He asks, she walks back over to the hearth. "They're dead..." She says solemnly. Smith sighs. "When?" "Soon after you left yesterday. They went out to hunt, left me to watch the cabin. They found a nice deer in the woods not to far from here. Soon after shooting it, the Trotters moved in, hearing the shot. They were caught off guard. The Trotters got them." Gabby says, sniffling. She hangs her head and the sizzling of tears hitting flame is audible. Feeling bad for her, Smith struggles to get up. Climbing off the cot and straining to stand, Smith wobbles over to Gabby. Placing his left foreleg over her neck, she jumps. Lifting her head out of her talons she looks at him. Tears streaking her feathered face. "Have you had to kill one yet?" She asks, he shakes his head. "I haven't either. Griffons can't turn like ponies do." "Really?" "Yeah. But that doesn't mean they can't be eaten. A unicorn made it into my home and started to eat my sister. Tristan managed to be flying by and killed it. But my sister already had her.... Her.... She was going to die anyway. But I didn't want to have her suffer. So I took a kitchen knife and..." "It's alright." Smith says, hugging her. "Thanks MetalSmith." She says, the smile audible in her voice. "Of coarse." He tells her, pulling away from the hug. She wipes her face with a talon and throws a piece of wood on the fire. MetalSmith walks back over to the cot and sits on it. "You hear about what's happening in Canterlot?" Smith asks. Gabby turns around and shakes her head. "No, what's happening?" She inquires. "The princesses are sheltering survivers in the castle. Taking in anypony they can." Smith says. Gabby's eyes widen. "Really!?" She asks. "Yeah! My wife left me a note saying she's heading there. Mabey we can meet her!" Smith says, excitedly. Gabby nods. "You are going, right?" "Yeah. No reason for me to stay here now." She says. "Leave in the morning?" "Yes." Smith says, nodding. Then laying back onto the cot. "In the morning." "MetalSmith." Gabby says, shaking him awake. He opens his eyes to look at her. "I think it best if we leave now." She tells him. He nods. Leaving him to get up, Gabby walks over to the fire to put it out. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and yawning, Smith rolls over off the cot and lands on his hooves. Once his weight is on the shot leg, he falls. "Oh, Smith!" Gabby exclaims, starting to head over to help him. Metal waves her off. Planting his three good legs onto the floor, he pushes up. Eventually standing upright, his wounded leg held up. "Ok. Gabby." He starts, looking over to the Griffon. "What?" She asks, successfully putting out the fire. "Where's my gun?" He asks, hopping over to her. Thinking for a second, then sticking a claw in the air. "Ah! Your jerry-rigged bandage?" She asks, smirking. He looks at her sternly. "It's all I had." "Yeah yeah. Over here." She says, getting up and walking over to a chest. Taking a key from under the rug next to it, she unlocks the chest, swinging open the lid. "We stored all valuables in this chest here. So I stuck your weapon here too. For safe keeping." She tells him, grabbing a holster caked in blood. "Thanks." He tells her, grabbing it with his right wing. "Y'know, I have a spare one that should hold your Calibre." She informs him, grabbing another leg holster from the chest. Yanking Smith's out of his wing grasp, a she removes his gun and places it in the clean one. "Oh. Thank you!" He happily says. Taking the holster, he places it on his left forearm. "It's nice! A lot more comfortable than my last one." He tells her, getting a happy smile In return. "That's good, because I have a hunch that that holster will make it's home on your leg." She says to him. "So... Off to Canterlot?" She asks. Smith nods walking over to the door. "Off to Canterlot!" 'Minor' ComplicationsAuthor's Note Sorry for the delayed chapter. I've been writing 'Bones for the taking' because ideas are flowing! Smith must have some kind of brain damage. Damn. 'Minor' Complications "So... What's the route we're taking?" MetalSmith asks Gabby, stopping her from leaving the cabin. "Oh... Yeah... That's something we have to find, huh?" She says, giggling embarrassedly, turning around to look at him. Smith nods, attempting not to catch the contagious laughter. Smiling sheepishly, Gabby closes the door and heads over to the cot. Smith follows suit. Grabbing the saddlebags of her flank, she places them onto the cot. The buckles unsnap and the bags open. Digging around until she finds the rolled up paper. "This here is a map of all Equestria. Nabbed it from a store after I escaped Griffinstone." She tells Smith while unrolling the map. The map was well worn. So much that Smith doubted it was 'nabbed from a store'. In the center was a tower like mountain holding the royal castle off to the side. "Here's where we are." Gabby points out, placing a claw on the forest just outside of Manehatten. "Our best bet of not dying and possibly meeting more survivors is here." Her claw then moves up the map and stopping on the railway tunnel. "The railroad?" Smith asks, looking up at her in disbelief. She looks up to meet his gaze with a nod. "The railroad. With luck. Nopony will be hostile." "Yeah..." He says. Hoping for the same luck. With that, Gabby puts the map away, closes the bag and throws it onto her flank. "Ouch!" Smith exclaims as a branch smacks him in the face. "Ooh. Sorry!" Gabby giggles, walking through the brush. Smith behind her. Continuing in silence until they broke through the brush, ending up in a small clearing that contained the tracks in the middle of it. On the other side where the forest started again was a few Trotters. "Oh thank Celestia they're Earth ponies." Gabby says, pointing to the four across from them. Smith nods. "You have a knife or something I could use? All I have is my forty-four." Smith whispers. Gabby shakes her head. "I've got nothing. We'll have to sneak past them." Gabby informs Smith, waving him back into the woods. "Where are w-" "Shhh!" She silences him. They walk to the left of where the Trotters where seen. Being careful to keep silent. FBOOMFBOOM!! The sound of an over-under shotgun rattles through the forest, making Gabby jump. Smith already has Reliable in his mouth. Crouching low, Smith starts to make his way out of the woods. FBOOMFBOOM!! "Smith!" Gabby strains to be quiet. "Smith! Don't!" He blows her off with a flick of his tail, continuing to walk to the tracks. Brushing of the remaining branches, he stands up and looks over to where the Trotters where. With those gone, he looks to the tracks. FBOOM! WIZZ! The pellets from the shotgun fly above Smith. CRACK! Smith shoots his gun towards where he last heard the shot. "WOAH WOAH WOAH!!!" A stallion runs out, holding the shotgun with a wing. "Hey w-" CRACK! Smith pulls the trigger again, hitting the stallion In the chest, dropping him close to instantly. Smith trots over and picks up the shotgun with a wing. He breaks the top open and checks the load. Both live. "Wha-" The stallion tries to speak, causing him to hack up blood. "Why?" Smith looks down at the stallion sadly. "What's your name?" Smith asks, causing the stallion to look up at him confusedly. "What?" He cough up more blood. "Name. What's your name?" Smith repeats. "Sandy Beach." This time the blood came up as clots. "I'm sorry... Sandy Beach." Smith says, closing the shotgun. Placing the muzzle over Sandy's head. "What? W!" More hacking. "I'm sorry." He says again, pulling the trigger, killing Sandy. Smith and Gabby walk down the tracks, smothered in silence. Gabby staying a safe distance away to Smith's right. "I can't believe you did that." Gabby says, not closing the distance between them. Smith just looks away. Another ten minutes pass, the silence becomes defining to Gabby. "Why is it you did that!?" She shouts, looking over to him. He keeps his gaze ahead. "The first shot, the shot that crippled him, was unintentional. The second shot, when I killed him, was a mercy shot. Not only did he not suffer, but he didn't turn into one of those.... Things." Smith replies, placing the over-under in his bag, along side the shells and bandages found in Sandy's bags. "He was trying to talk! He was trying to become friends!" She insists. "By the time that registered, I had already pulled the trigger. All that was in my mind was that he tried to kill me. I could feel the BBs on my mane." Smith says calmly, doing his best to not lose it. "He was trying... To talk...." Gabby says, looking down and sniffling. The tunnel they have been heading for has been in view for at least an hour. Growing closer painstakingly slowly. The two walked in silence, not a word said since the argument. Stopping at the opening of the cave, Gabby hisses, grabbing MetalSmith's attention. "How much ammo you got?" She asks. Smith turns to look at her. "Why?" He asks. "Just... Answer me." She growls. Smith sighs and grabs his saddle bags of his flank with a wing and sets it on the ground. Opening the bag with the gold plated shotgun sticking out, he counts the shells. "I've got ten shells, twelve counting the two in the gun. Then I have four left in Reliable." He informs Gabby. "Ok." She watches him close the bag and put it back on. "Why did you want to know?" "Taking inventory. We don't know how many are in there. Or how long it is. So it's good to be prepared!" She fakes a smile. "Uh huh..." Smith said, unconvinced. "How many bandages yeh got there?" He asks her, pointing to her saddlebags. "Well... Let's see." She takes off her bags and digs through them. "Enough, in case you get bitten or hurt yourself." He nods at her then looks towards the tunnel. The tunnel was dark, and because neither MetalSmith or Gabby had anything to light it, it would stay that way. Slight raspy breathing could be heard, far away enough to not cause worry. Water dripping gave a tempo for them to walk. Which was a hasty speed. "Hold on." Gabby whispers, both of them stopping. "Do you hear that?" Straining to hear, Smith closes his eyes, concentrating on the sounds. The dripping of water, creaking of stone, breathing of Gabby. The faint hoofsteps of Trotters. "I hear it. Doesn't sound like they're very close." Smith tells her. But just to be safe, he removes the shotgun from his bag with a wing. Keeping it pointed forward. "What we going to do?" She asks worriedly. Eyes straining to look at Smith. "You're going to stay behind me. And since we can't see very well, if I'm taken down, you run. Run back to the entrance of the tunnel. Find another way to Canterlot." He says, looking in her direction. Gabby nods, realising he can't see her. "Ok." Turning back towards where they're walking, they notice something. It's a red Dot, moving slowly back and forth far ahead. "Let's be careful." Smith says, starting forward. As the light got closer, the snarling got louder. Soon, MetalSmith was smart enough to put two and two together. "Those are Trotters." He says quietly to Gabby. "What!?" "Those lights. They're Trotters." He repeats. The amount of lights grew. From two to countless. "Well... We'll have to find a way through them. Mabey over. You can fly right?" Smith asks Gabby. "No, these wings are decorative." If he could see her, she would be smirking. "Anyway. Lets try and fly over them. I just hope they can't see in the dark." MetalSmith expands his wings, hearing Gabby do the same. "Alright Smithy, i'm--" "Never going to call me that again." "Fine, MetalSmith, I'll fly alongside the right side of the tunnel. And to avoid colliding with each other, I suggest you fly alongside the left." She tells him. "Alright." Simultaneously they shoot into the air, causing a large gust of wind to make it's way down both sides of the tunnel. "And Gabby. See you on the other side." "You shoulda said that when we entered the cave." She jokes. Smiling, Smith flies to the left. Finding the wall, he flies alongside it. Quietly as possible, watching the red lights pass below him. Slowly, carefully, slowly, caref- Crack! Smith slams his head into a giant rock. "AH! SHH!!" he hushes himself, falling to the ground, holding his head. The growling gets louder, Smith unable to notice, his head throbbing and bleeding. Pushing harder onto his head trying to stop the bleeding, Smith thrusts his wings, attempting to get high enough to stay away from the Trotters. His wings twitching as he ascends, the pain becoming too much. Needling down his spine, into his wings. Spasming, his wings falter, causing him to fall and slam against the ground. Hitting his right side, he feels something snap, but the pain doesn't compare to the skull fracture. FWOOM! The sound of a spotlight turning on, followed by the crack of a rifle, effectively causing Smith to go temporarily deaf. Only now and then does a louder shot make it through to Smith, deafining him even more. Holding both hooves on his bleeding head, he looks up. Dead Trotters are scattered around, their blood painting the walls. Standing above him a grey earthpony stallion. Holding an assault rifle. "It's you." He says flatly, hitting Smith in the forehead with the gun, effectively knocking him out. Gabby exits the tunnel, breathing in the fresh air happily. A small breeze ruffling her wings. Then a muffled crack eminates from the cave. Whipping around, she listens carefully. "Smith?" She lightly shouts, getting no response. "Smith!?" Louder this time. When no response comes, she runs back into the cave. "Smith!!" Running to where she thinks they split up, she feels around. Squelch. She feels something wet and warm. Panic coursing through her. Is this Smith?! Is he dead!? She feels up and down the corpse, unintentionally putting her hand into a bloody hole in it's torso. Taking no attention to it, she feels around to the flank. No saddlebags. That's good. Moving her head up, she looks all around. She knows something's different. Something's, off. No more red lights. All the Trotters are dead. "METALSMITH!!" Gabby yells, her voice echoing throughout the cave. "Please don't be dead!" Smith groans, the headache head splitting. Close to literally. MetalSmith tries to sit up, but the straps on the cot prevent that from happening. Not so much as a wiggle is possible. Taking note of what he's in, Smith looks around. Tan tent, scraps of cardboard and plastic scattered around the room. Boxes stacked close to the ceiling. Floor was dirt, and no sunlight made it through the fabric of the tent. The only light being the oil lamp next to Smith's restraints. "Well well well." A voice drifts from the front of the tent. "Look who's come to." Snickering can be heard, as well as the staccato crunch of hooves on the dirt. "Mmmph!!" Metal attempts to speak, but suddenly realizing that the bandage around his muzzle be is preventing that. "Don't bother." The voice calls. Now coming from the left of the tent. The bandages holding his snout closed prevent his jaw from moving at all. Forcing him to breath through his nose. The grey stallion shows himself, appearing from behind a stack of boxes. "Your awake." He says again, looking at MetalSmith, who's Beginning to hyperventilate. "Careful now. Do that and you'll pass out. You're lucky I don't just kill you now. Seeing as you killed Sandy." He says coldly, glaring down at MetalSmith. Smith's nostrils flair, trying to get enough oxygen to his racing heart. Not enough. Smith's vision gets black around the edges, seeping into the middle. Until finally, Darkness. A Qwick SaveAuthor's Note I know this chapter was considerably shorter and choppier, but it's waaaaay overdue, so heres a short chapter. A Qwick Save Gabby continues to feel around the different corpses littering the pitch dark tunnel. Every now and then her talons brush up on casings and shells. Beginning to put things together. MetalSmith's not here. What happened? She asks herself, continuing to feel around for something useful. Shell, casing, casing, shell, giant shell. Wait. picking up the 'giant shell' and feeling around, one thing becomes apparent. Then her opposable talon hits something rubber. Pushing on it, a bright and blinding beam of light emanates right toward her. Startled, Gabby drops the flashlight and falls backward. Blinking a few times and rubbing her eyes, they eventually adjust to the bright light on the floor a few hooves in front of her. Clambering back to her hooves/talons, she steps to the flashlight. "There must be another Griffon or a Dragon with whoever took Smith. Ponies don't have talons, or digits at all, to turn on a flashlight like this." She speaks to herself, sweeping the tunnel with light. Aiming the light towards a pile of boulders from where she came, she realized why Smith never made it. On his side of the tunnel was a collapse. And with it being so dark, he wouldn't of seen it. Then something flashed gold. Preying to Celestia it wasn't Smith's shotgun, the trots over. To find a gold plated, over under shotgun. Ignoring the gun, she searches franticly for any other sign of smith. Around the shotgun were scattered live shells. It's as if Smith's saddlebag was torn open. A few bandages around the shells. "You where holdin' out on me Smith." Gabby giggles to herself in an attempt to lighten her mood. Bending down and picking up the bandages, she puts them in the same side as her others. Placing the flashlight on the ground, illuminating what she's looking at. Then, grabbing the shells and putting them in the saddlebag on her left, she picks up the shotgun. "How... How did Smith open this" She whispers, looking over the top. Her eyes rest on a lever. "Could this be it?" Pushing the lever up, to no avail, she huffs. Thinking back to the entrance of the tunnel, when Metalsmith checked the rounds. "He pushed it to the right!" She says, louder than a whisper. Putter her thumb-talon onto the lever and pushing it right. Then breaking it open, two shells eject out. "Damn, spent." She says, looking at the empty shells on the ground. Digging two more shells out of her bag, she loads the shotgun. "Well, this is a good place to start looking for smith." She sighs, closing the shotgun then picking up the flashlight. The smell of wax bombard MetalSmith's nostrils, forcing him awake. His eyes fluttering open to a different tent. White fabric and a giant red plus on the ceiling. Trying to sit up, but the pain in his head keeping him from moving it. "Wha-?" "Doon't strain yerself." Somepony tells him. Wincing and straining, Smith manages to turn his head to the left. Other cots scattered with ponies and griffins lay around the tent. Small, metal trays lay behind each cot. Sitting at a desk near the door is a brown coated stallion. Under his flat cap is a Green, flat mane. Even though sitting and facing towards him, Smith can clearly see the stallions Cutie Mark. A golf club and ball with three scratch marks behind it. "What? Who are you?" Metal asks, making his vision go blurry. "What'd ah seh? Doon't. Strain. Yerself." He repeats, standing up and grabbing a small yellow bottle with his mouth. Quickly trotting over to Smith, he places the bottle on the tray behind Smith's cot. Opening the bottle and shaking two pills out, grabbing a cup off the tray holding them out to Smith. "Take eet." Smith turns his head away. "Oh don't be a babay, theere joost pain keelers." Groaning, Smith looks back to him. Though reluctant, he's yearning for the pain to go away. Opening his mouth, letting the stallion put the pills into his mouth. Then, putting the cup to Smith's lips, he tips the liquid into his mouth. Swallowing the pills and wincing, he sighs. "They'll keek een soon." The stallions says, putting the cup back onto the tray, "Was that alcohol?" The stallion chuckles. "Yeah, eet usually helps me geet teh stuff down." He thinks for a second. "Yoo deedent spit eet out like others yooshualy doo." "Yeah." Smith laughs slightly before coughing. "I've drowned myself in that stuff many times..." He sighs. "Speekin' of death. Yer lucky Qweeck deedent kill ya when he found ya. Seeing as yeh keeled his best friend." "Yeah, Sandy." Smith says sadly. "What's yer name? ahm Leegue." the stallions asks, identifying himself as 'League'. "Metalsmith." Gabby looks around the cave, trying for any sign of where smith could've gone. Scanning the dirt floor of the cave, back and forth, moving slowly. Until she sees something. Moving closer to inspect it, Gabby laughs with disbelief. "They have a fuckin' tank. Well, best place to start. I can't be to far behind. They had to of left not to long ago." She says to herself, pointing the flashlight towards where the tracks lead. "Well well well. Now look who's come to... again." A grey earth-pony stallion walks into the medical tent, tsking. Glancing over to League, who has disappeared.. "Who the hell are you?!" Metalsmith shouts, now feeling considerably better. "Who the hell am I? Well, I'm Qwick." He smirks evilly. "And you, MetalSmith, are now mine." "Excuse me?" Smith asks in disbelief, sitting up. "Well," He starts, walking further into the tent. "I saved you, and now..." He extends a pair of metal wings. "I. OWN. YOU." Gabby exits the tunnel, daylight momentarily blinding her. Making her unable to see the Pegasus Trotter walking her way. She continues to walk forward, covering her eyes with her talons, and slamming into the trotter. Knocking both herself and the trotter over. She uncovers her eyes, finally able to see. She groans, watching the trotter climb back to its hooves. Behind it. A hoard. "Shiiiiiiiiit."
The SpreadAuthor's Note Hello! The Spread MetalSmith. You ask him to do something, and it'll be done. Thats why he's loved by his boss. He's the only Pegasus in the train yard who can get work done faster than a unicorn. "SMITH!" His name blasted from the P.A. system. Upon hearing his name he turns off his welder and lifts his visor. Hanging the Oxyacytiline torch he was just using on the bottles, he takes off the visor aswell. Able to see easier, he looks up at the boss's office, and the blue stallion waves him up. "Coming!" He yells, knowing completely well that his boss can't hear him. The stairs that went up to the train yard Foreman's office were clear on the other side of the building. Meaning Metalsmith had to dodge all the other workers to get there. But No flying. The office had a strap that can only be taken off by a guard with a certain key. The foreman had them made to prevent any accedents from a flying Pegasus. Being a welder, his coat and face had scorch marks from the slag that would fly up and hit him. Even if he wore a mask, they would still find their way under. When he was younger, his mother would always compliment him on his perfect bark Brown coat. Or his black mane. But those compliments stopped once he went into this field. He knew he was going to be a welder once the torch Cutie Mark popped up. He thanks the welding class in school for that. BUMP! MetalSmith kicks the bottom step, lost in thought. Shaking his head bringing himself break to reality, he starts up the steps. 56 steps. He's counted a multitude of times. 53 54 55 56 Smith reaches the top. Walking over to the door, he knocks. "Come on in!" Complying, he turns the knob and swings the door inward. Walking in, the door automatically closing behind him. Directly across from Smith was his boss, Foreman. Foreman's office is extremely bland. No pictures of family members. Nothing to show he has any life outside the office aside from the Celestia bobble head on his desk. "You called me? Boss?" "Yes!" The blue stallion says, turning around from the window and looking at Smith. Metal walks over to the desk and sits in the client chair. Foreman sits in his chair across the desk from Smith. "I wanted you to talk about your tendency to finish stuff early." Foreman tells him. And is responded with a confused look. "Don't get me wrong. I love it! It's great! But I'm afraid it's too great. Ponies over at the main yard, the one in Canterlot, want you." "Oh. I can't go there, I live here. My family is here. I can't make that commute." Metal tells him. Foreman nods. "I know. That's why I told them no. But I'll only be able to do that for so long before they start screwing up my yard." "What do you mean?" "They'll start firing ponies at random, stop the steady flow of materials. They'll basicly shut me down." Foreman says, slamming his hoof on the desk angrely. "All because they want me?" "All because they want you." He nods. "Dammit... Mabey, I could screw something up. Then they won't want me. You have anything I could screw up without damaging The company?" Smith asks. Foreman shakes his head. "No, all I have is essential. Don't worry, I'll work something out with them." He says, standing up. Metalsmith hops out of his chair and walks towards the door, Foreman behind him. "Thanks boss." Metal says, opening the door. Foreman nods. Metal walks through the door and starts to close it, but Foreman stops it before it closes all the way. " Smith." "Yes boss?" "Celestia smile on your family." He says. "Thank you, sir." With that, the door closes. "Smith!" A voice behind him yells. He lifts the torch then his visor. He turns around to see why his name was yelled. An H beam suspended by one wire is swinging towards him. Tossing the still burning torch and diving out of the way, the front end of the beam slams into the train car he was working on. The back end of the beam swinging away from Smith, hitting his gas bottles. The acetylene bottle knocked over and the cap being broken off. Landing next to the burning torch. "IT'S GONNA-" Smith's cut off by the ear splintering boom of the acetylene gas combusting. The flash and noise disorienting Metalsmith and the others around him. Taking deep breaths and rubbing his eyes, Smith manages to get his heart rate and sight back. He looks up at where the beam came from just in time to see Ironsmith, another welder and lifelong friend, get his throat torn out by Lumberjack. Or, what he thought was lumberjack. Still unable to hear from the explosion, he gets up and runs up the scaffolding stairs. Getting to the top end of the scaffolding, he looks over at where Ironsmith was. He's dead on the ground, his intestines bring torn out and eaten by.... Something that's not lumberjack anymore. "Hey!!" Metal yells at the thing. It turns it's head slowly to look at him. Looking it in the eyes, Smith sees that it's eyes aren't normal. They're glazed over. The eyes of a dead pony. Putting it's front hooves into the carcass of Metal's friend to push itself up. Stumbling while it Turns around, it starts limping towards Metalsmith. While it slowly makes its way towards him, he notices another thing off. It's missing half of it's face. Surrounding the wound is what looks like tares and bite marks. It sounds odd. The breathing raspy and liquidey. Like breathing in and out with mucus in the way. "L-Lumberjack! Hey! It's Metalsmith." He yells at it, hoping it's just some horrible joke. But the creature just keeps walking. Closer and closer. "Dammit..." Smith says, running back down the scaffolding. Stopping quickly, he see his boss in his office, looking through the glass, concerned. But not daring to come down. The whole shop was in chaos. Things falling, others yelling. Walking carefully to the stairs, Smith sees others knocking down the things. Some using pipe wrenches. Some using just pipes. Doing their damndest to defend themselves. Seeing a Pegasus he decides that the wing restraints were a good idea after all. Looking ahead he beelined it to the stairs. 55 56 Sprinting over to his boss's office and rushing through the door. Slamming it closed behind him. "What the hell is going on!?" Metal yells. Foreman turns around. "I have no idea. But we need to get the hell out of here." He says, somehow calm. "Boss! You have a key to these damn things! Please take it off!" He shouts, running over to the desk. Swollowing nervously, Foreman nods. He walks over to his desk and opens the top drawer. Taking it between his teeth he walks over to Metal. Placing the key in the lock, turning it and the strap falls to the floor. Stretching his wings he smirks. "Now we can properly get the hell out of h-" Smith's cut off by the sound of the creatures slamming themselves into door. Looking back in time to see a horn puncture through the door. Soon blood running down the horn. Smith guesses it pulled the horn right out of its head. "Damn! The window!" Foreman yells. Turning to his desk he picks up the bobblehead in his teeth. He whips around violently, letting the bobblehead fly from his mouth and break the window. Smith runs over. "Go Smith! I'll keep these Luna damned things back. Get to your family." Foreman tells him. "No! Sir, I can carry you!" "No! I'd just weigh you down!" Foreman tells him, going to the door. "Sir! What about y-" "FUCKING GO!" The blue stallion opens the door. Three of the creatures come in. One having a gaping hole where the horn used to be. "Go dammit!!! FUCKING GET OUT OF HERE!!" Coming back to reality, Smith turns around and runs to the window. Guilt washing through him he turns back around. The only other unicorn thing's horn is glowing. Looking over to his former boss, he sees one of his back legs glowing the same deathly black. Foreman trys tugging at his limb, only to hear a loud pop in return. Foreman yells In pain, but continues tugging. Soon snapping can be heard, and flesh tearing. Foreman's leg stringily tearing off. Holding down his lunch, Smith turns back around and this time jumping out the window, extending his wings. Dodging the equipment hanging from the ceiling. Managing to stay high enough, out of the sight of the unicorns. Looking for a way out, his eyes manage to settle on the window on the other side of the shop. Thanking Celestia it was a high window, he heads straight for it. Getting close, Smith tucks his wings against his body, squeezes his eyes shut and sticks his front hooves out. A quick second later he feels the glass break against his hooves. Soon enough he's outside. Opening his eyes and extending his wings, he sees smoke rising into the hazy Manehattan sky. Looking down he sees a whole bunch of the things swarming the shop. Looking out ahead, he can barely make out the apartment building where his wife and son will be. "I'm gonna find you. I love you both." Halfway there. Smith is halfway to the building. Flying over a hoofball stadium he notices something odd. The ground seems to be moving. Until a whole bunch of them take flight. Soaring right at him with deadly speed. A whole new shot of adrenaline sent Metalsmith twice as fast forward. Looking around desperately for a building to dodge into. The creatures gaining, he manages to see what he's looking for. In the woods that separated the hoofball stadium from the city was a small shack. Closing his wings he dives towards a stack of hay. Hitting it hard. Black. The smell of cooking meat woke Metalsmith. Jerking up, resisting the urge to throw up again, he looks over at the source. On his right were Two Griffons sitting around a hearth. Cast iron pot hanging above the stove. He moved all of his appendiges to make sure what he smelled wasn't him. All six limbs present. "Look who's awake!" Smith looked to his left to see another griffon sitting aside him. "Where am I?" Smith cautiously says, sitting up. The other two Griffons turn around to look at him. "You're in our little cottage." The one on his left says. "You took quite a hit. What were you thinking?" The one on the right of the two by the hearth says. Smith turns and gets out of the cot. Once on four hooves, Smith speaks. "I was thinking of getting away from a flock of creatures." "Creatures? You mean the Trotters?" The left one by the hearth asks. Smith nods. "I guess." Long pause. "Wait... How long have I been out?" "A day." The one left of the cot says. "A DAY!?" They all nod. "I need to get to my family!" He shouts, running towards the door. The griffon that was left of the cot runs to the door, blocking Smith from leaving. "Now hold on. You leave and you walk right into a swarm of the flying Trotters. Best we wait it out." "I need t-" "He's right." The female says, walking over to him. "Doesn't matter how urgent you gotta go to is. You leave now, and your dead in seconds." Smith looks from her, to the one still at the hearth, then to the one at the door. He growls angrely. "Fine!" He shouts, then stomps back over to the cot. The female snickers, walking over to Smith. "I'm Gabby, by the way. That there is Tristan." She says, pointing to the one by the hearth. "And he's Cameron." Another claw goes in the direction of the one still by the door. "And what's your name? Mysterious stallion?" She giggles. "The name's Metalsmith." "Okay, looks their clear." Cameron says, looking out the slightly open door. Metal jumps up from the cot and runs over to the door. "Okay, well than. Looks your free to go." Gabby tells Smith, walking over to him. He looks over to her and she smiles. "Wish me luck." He says, dread obvious in his voice. "Remember, the flyers look up. You see a group of them, drop to the ground and walk your way around them. Otherwise your screwed." Tristan says, still over by the hearth. "Thank you. All three of you. You sure you don't want to come with me?" Smith asks them. They all nod. "We're sure. Better us stay here. We've got food and shelter." Cameron says, looking out the door again. "Tell ya what." Gabby says, getting a bit closer. "If you find your family. Come back here. Even if you don't. You got three more friends who could help ya along." She gives him a reassuring smile. "Thank you." He looks down. Breathing deeply he turns to the door. "I'm ready." "Your ready?" "I'm ready." He nods. Cameron nods back. Putting his right talon on the door, he turns the nob. Swinging the door open, Smith runs through, extending his wings. Flying high into the sky. He looks over to the apartment building in the distance. "I'm coming Swift."
The MissingAuthor's Note GUTENTAG! (I hope that's how you spell it ) The Missing 'watch out for the flyers' The advice from the Griffons rang in MetalSmith's head. 'They look up... Drop to the ground and find a way around them.' And that's exactly what he's doing. Soon after leaving the cottage of Gabby, Cameron, and Tristan, he came upon another group of exactly what he was hoping to avoid. Flyers. This time they were grouped up in the streets of Manehatten. Hundreds, mabey thousands, of these flying monsters that took away MetalSmith's primary method of transportation. Stepping carefully, trying to reduce noise, Smith makes his way down an abandoned sidewalk. Three more blocks. Turning the corner of an office building, then continuing forward. He can see his destination. Two more blocks. He can hear them. There must be at least fifty of them. Their breathing is distinct. Smith peeks around the corner of the street then bolts across it. One more block. Walking in front of the apartment building across from his, then reaching the corner. "Please, Celestia, let there be like, two." He preys. Sticking his head around the corner he sees exactly what he didn't want to see. A horde. Ducking back behind the building he takes a deep breath. If his apartment building isn't locked than he could make it in with ease. But if it's locked he'll have to fly up and break through a window. Now or never. He bolts for the other sidewalk. Bad timing. A unicorn walks from the croud and spots Smith. The unicorn snarls loudly, it's horn glowing a death black. Smith feels the resistance on his back leg emediatly. He instinctively pulls on his leg. To no avail. POP! The sound of his leg dislocating. Screaming in pain, Smith collapses, unable to move. The scream causing the other Trotters look and start his way. CRACK!! Looking up in time to see the unicorn's head explode, releasing the grip on his leg. Using his three good legs he hoists himself up. CRACK!!! The blood and brain of the closest Trotter now decorated the street. Smith limped towards his building. Twenty yards. CRACK!!! Another Trotter down. "Almost there!" Smith tells himself. Dragging his dislocated leg behind him, he reaches the door. Bringing a hoof up and placing it on the door, MetalSmith pushes as hard as he can. The door says closed. Extending his wings and looking up, trying to see his window, MetalSmith is stopped by the sound of the door unlocking and swinging open. "Come on!" A mare yells. Complying, he hurries in as fast as his three legs will carry him. CRACK!!! The bullet wizzes by and breaks something further in the lobby. Flattening her ears, the mare pulls out a radio. "Hey!!! Watch it Sharp!" She yells into the radio. "That was to close." Putting the radio away and ushering Smith the rest of the way in, she closes and locks the door again. Turning around, Smith watches an earth pony Trotter turn around and start bucking the doors with it's back hooves. Startled, the mare that saved him shrieks a bit. Shaking her head she runs forward. "Come on! Let's get higher." she tells Smith, running towards the stairs. Untucking his wings, Smith flaps, beginning to hover, bringing the weight off his unusable limb. Making it down the hallway connected to the lobby, the mystery mare opens the stairway door. Smith flys through, followed by mystery trotting through. "Fifth floor!" She yells to Smith. He flies up, making a short trip. But the mare took a bit, being a unicorn. Once she made it up to the door, she opened it, letting Smith through. With both through, she closed the for again, watching Smith set down. "Yo! Sorter!" She yells. A stallion appears from the further hallway. "Who's this!?" The unicorn shouts, a pistol floating at his side. "I don't know." She replies, looking at Smith. "But Sharp saved him. That's not something he normally does, so I thought I'd help him out." Sorter nickers, then motions to them. "Come on. Doc's over here." He says, then walks back from where he came. Smith looks at the mare curiously. She motions to him, saying to follow her. He nods as she starts to walk. "Thank you, for opening the door." Smith says, limping behind her. "Yea. Now, let's get that leg fixed so you can be on your way." She says, opening the door to another apartment. Limping his way in, Smith noticed the room was empty. Save for dining table. But he stayed silent as she led him through. Soon enough they reached a curtain. Brushing it aside, the mare stood still. Telling Smith to go on through. Nodding, he limped his way into the room. A few cots here and there. Some occupied by sleeping stallions and mares. A few empty. Across the room, sitting at a desk, was a white coated and blue maned stallion. Behind him, Smith heard the mare whistle, causing the stallion to turn around. "Yes?" He asks, standing up and walking over. His Cutie Mark a red plus sign. "Fix him up so he can be on his way." She says, then walks away. The doctor turns to MetalSmith and looks up and down him. Seeing the limp limb, the doc tsks. "What'd you do?" He asks. "I had a run in with a unicorn Trotter." Smith responds, a bit uncomfortable with how close the doctor is getting. The doctor turns around and walks over to an empty cot. "Please sit here. What's your name?" He asks, pointing to the cot in front of him. Smith walks over and sits, causing a serge of pain up his side. "MetalSmith." He groans. The doctor nods then places his hooves on Smith's thighs. "Hey! Watch it!" Smith says. "It's either I do this and help you. Or to drag around a dislocated back leg." Smith shuts up. The doctor puts his hooves on Smith's left hip. Feeling the dislocation. "Okay, it's right here. I'm going to have to pop it back in." He says to Smith. "Lilac!! Please come in here!" He shouts. The same mare who saved Smith walks in. "Yea doc?" She asks, making her way over to them. "Hold his back please. And push on him when I say." The doc says to Lilac. She nods. Turning around the doctor grabs a rope. He turns back around to Metal and tells him to put it in his mouth. "We don't want you biting a hole in your cheek. Or to bite your tongue off." Lilac informs him. Metal nods, biting down on the rope. "You ready?" The doctor asks. Smith nods. "One, two, three." POP "Which one of you is in charge?" Metal asks from the cot. A camoflauge stallion walks in. "Name's Camo. Now who the HELL let you in!?" He yells, a holster on his front left leg. "I did." Lilac says, stepping out from behind the doctor. "Lilac! Don-" "It's fine, Doc." She says, cutting him off. "Who gave you authority to let in strangers!?" Camo shouts, stepping closer to Lilac. "He was being attacked by the horde outside. Sharp killed a unicorn who was taking this one's leg." She points to Metal when saying 'this one.' Camo Huff's, then turns to Smith. "What the hell do you need before you go!?" He asks angrely. To answer the question, Smith crawls off the cot and stand up, walking over to Camo. "I need nothing from you. But what I do need it's access to the fifteenth floor. My a-" "Woah, hold it. You say fifteenth floor?" Camo asks, cutting Smith of. Metal just nods with annoyance. "Yes. That's where my apartment is. I'm looking for my family." MetalSmith tells Camo. Camo just whistles. "That's someplace nopony goes. And onypony who was there is dead." He tells MetalSmith."place is overrun with Trotters. Since the rocket hit the side of the building, the flyers took the place over." MetalSmith sighs, hanging his head. "Could you give me some kind of weapon? I need to get up there. I doubt my family is there, but mabey my wife left some kind of message. Where she's going." And I need my guns. He didn't say that out loud. "Like I said, nopo-" "I'm going up there weather you like it or not. It just comes down to weather your sending a pony to his death, or your going to give him a fighting chance." Smith says, Stone Cold expression on his face. Camo stares at Smith for a bit, then growls again. He turns around and starts to walk out the room. "Somepony give this suicider a knife." MetalSmith and Lilac walk up to the fifteenth floor door. Camo decided to give Smith a machete, their only one. On the condition that they get it back. Lilac went with Metal, she felt obligated to help him. "You ready?" Lilac asks, putting her hoof on the door nob. Smith nods, machete in his mouth. "Remember, sound brings 'em to you. And killing one makes the others aggressive." She says, then pushes on the door firmly. It gives some resistance, but budges. Opening with a loud CREAK! Wincing, the ponies in the door peer into the darkness. Nothing moves, nothing wheezes. It's as if nothing is there. Stepping forward carefully, the two make their way into the pitch dark hallway. Smith remembers when he left this same hallway at the beginning of the week. ----------Flashback--------- "I hope you can stand yourself!" Swift shouts sarcastically. It's another fight between the supposed to be happily ever after couple. "Honey! It's my job. I have to do this!" Smith yells, even if he and Swift are in their room, door closed, their son can hear them. "You don't have to leave every Monday and return every Friday! All we get is two days with you. Then your gone again! Think about Jack! It's not fair to your son that you're gone five out of seven days!" She yells. Smith turns around and closes his suitcase. "I do have to do this. It's not my responsibility to get you off your lazy flank and find a job. So I will work. And I will provide for this family. Now, despite that I'm loving this conversation, I'm late already. Have a nice week, Swift." Smith says, contempt filling his voice. Swift had nothing left to say. The snarl. It's not easily mistaken. And it sounds as if Camo was right. The snarling was loud and had a ton of bodies taking part in it. "Shit..." Smith says to himself. They continue to walk until stopping at a corner. The Trotters are right around the corner. "Where is your place?" Lilac asks from behind Smith. "Id prefer a dinner first, darlin'." Smith says over his shoulder. Swift's silence shows Smith her lack of enjoyment in the joke. "It's in this hallway." "Convenient." She sighs, walking over to Smith's side. "I can light the hallway so you can find it. But only for a small amount of time. The Trotter's eyesight sucks, but not enough." "Okay. Well, now or never." He says, sighing. Nodding, Lilac's horn glows red, enough for the two to see. Turning into the hallway, they see the bunch of Trotters. Smith's eyes scanned the hallway until he could make out the numbers on the door. "There." He points. Lilac nods, killing the light. "Remember." Lilac whispers. "It's sound." Smith nods to himself, then quietly walks towards his door. His jaw tightening around the machete every time the floor creaked under his or Lilac's hoof. BUMP! Smith hits his head on the door. Lilac running into his flank. "Go! Quickly!" She whispers. The snarling getting slightly louder. Not wanting to draw any more attention, Smith doesn't respond to Lilac, instead he opens the door. Light floods into the hallway. Panicking, MetalSmith runs into the room along with Lilac, then slams the door shut. Both panting from adrenaline. "Dammit." Smith wheezes out. "Well, better hurry up and get what you need. Looks like we're leaving through the hole in the wall anyway." She says, pointing to the giant hole taking up half of the room. And most of the adjoining apartment. Smith nods, looking around his wrecked former home. The couch overturned, mail and other papers stuck and matted to the floor. Holes from both magic and hooves scattered the walls. Plates and cups shattered around. The rug slightly torn up from the floor. "Somepony had a fit." Lilac giggles, observing the destruction. "Yeah, Swift had a temper." MetalSmith says sadly. 'I wonder if it's still there.' he thinks to himself. Turning to the hallway, Smith makes the machete at home in the sheath on his left side. Walking down the hallway he catches a glimpse at his son's bedroom. Not wanting emotions to hit him, he continues to his and Swift's room. Entering The room, sees his mattress, but not the pictures on the walls. Or some of the decorative hairlooms. Thanking Celestia that his wife and son got out of there, he heads for the bedside cabinet. Sitting on his haunches, Smith breaths deeply. 'please Celestia. Let it still be here.' Closing his eyes, he swings the doors open. Opening his eyes he sees it. 44 Mag. Still in is forearm holster. Smirking, he picks it up with his hooves. Looking it over, he sees the name he gave it carved into the wood mouthpiece. ' LIL RELIABLE '. Placing the holster into his right foreleg, he heard Lilac holler from what's left of the living room. "MetalSmith! I think this is for you!" Curious, he gets up and makes his way over. Walking into the living room, he looks at Lilac on the corrected couch. He heads over to her. "I found this on the counter." She says, pointing to the note on the couch. Smith trots over and reads it. MetalSmith, Please, make your way to Canterlot. Celestia is taking ponies in at the castle. Hurry and she might t The wall just blew up. Jack fell. Rebar pierced him. He's snarling now. I need to go to Canterlot. "Hey. We need to get going. You've been sitting there for a good half hour. Let's go." Lilac tells him. Smith wipes his face of tears and nods. He gets up from his laying position and walks over to the hole in the wall. "Come on." Metal says in a surprisingly neutral tone. "I'll carry you." Lilac nods and walks over. Smith extends his wings and jumps into the air. Lilac walks over so she's directly under him. Lowering some, Smith puts his forelegs around her body and pulls her up. Adjusting until he's satisfied he won't drop her, he starts to fly out. Once clear of the building he turns around to watch the building on the way down. Then, one floor down, he spots it. A bloody piece of rebar sticking up from the concrete wall. The green and orange colt Smith knows as his son, at the base of the rebar, snarling and growling. Tears breaking from MetalSmith's eyes. Lilac falls.
Tragedy befalling"METALSMITH!!!!" Lilac screams, terror shooting through her as the ground is closing in fast. Smith stares at the body of his son. "METALSMITH!!!" She screams again, this time getting him to hear her. He looks down at her. Realizing what's happening, dives down after her. She's getting closer to the ground. 30 meters. 20 meters. Almost there! 10 meters. He feels his hoof brush against her mane. THUD! To prevent himself from meeting the same fate, he angles his wings and flys close to the ground. Flying up and back, he slows down. Landing and tucking his wings, he walks over to the body of Lilac. "Lilac?" He asks, walking up to her. He shakes her. "Lilac?" He says again. She's dead. He killed her... Falling into his flank, he starts breaking down. First his son, and now he's just committed murder. She was a nice mare too. He hasn't been out here for more then two days and the world's already thrown him into hell. That snarl. One is close. "No... I can't. Not n-" he looks up, and sees Lilac starting to get up. "Thank Celestia! Your not d-" he stops when he sees her eyes. Their clouded and sunk in. Then, he notices the front of her head is smashed in where she hit the ground. It tries to get up, but the limbs are broken at the joints, causing it to fall back over. "Dear Celestia... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Smith says, tears falling free mindedly. Feeling extremely guilty, he slowly grabs the machete. Walking over to her, he places the blade above her head. Below him, she's snarling and snapping at air. The broken, compressed muzzle causing blood to fly when she snaps. Reaching for him with her broken limbs. Smith holds the machete just above her head, tears running down his muzzle. Thunk. CRACK! The bullet hits before he heard the shot. Flinching and jumping back, Smith looks for where the shot came from. "It must be that s-" WIZZ! CRACK! The bullet wizzes by his head, causing him to yell. Jumping up and putting the machete away, he jumps into the air. Grabbing the body of Lilac, he flys towards where he entered the building. Reaching it, he sets down Lilac, then lands himself. Rapping on the glass door, hoping to get somepony's attention. SMASH! CRACK! The bullet wizzes by his head again, smashing the glass enough for Smith the break it the rest of the way. Throwing Lilac's body on his back, he enters the building, heading towards the stairwell. Opening the door, he runs up the stairwell, heading for floor five. He makes it and bursts through. "Doc!" Smith shouts, running through the different rooms until he makes it to the doc's room. Seeing the doctor in the chair, he slows down. "I'm so sorry..." The doctor turns around to look at him. "What do you..... Lilac!" He shouts, jumping up and running over to him. "What the hell happened!?" He yells, taking her off Smith's back. "S-she fell... Off the fifteenth floor." Metal struggles to lie. "That doesn't explain the bullet." The doctor says, pulling out the slug with his magic. "It was the.... S-sniper... She was already a.... A..." "Trotter?" The doctor finishes. Smith nods. The doctor sighs. "I'm going to ask you to leave. Camo won't be as forgiving." Smith looks at him. "What!?" "Go! Leave! Camo WILL kill you!" The doctor yells. Smith starts to panic, turning around, he runs out. Making it to the room with the dining table. "Hey!" Somepony yells, making Smith stop. Turning back around to look where he came from, In the doorway stood Camo. Camo reaches his head down and grabs the mouthgun in the holster. Not wanting to get shot, MetalSmith twists around and bolts for the stairway door. CRACK! Camo fires off the gun, barely missing Smith. Metal opens the doorway, runs through, then closes the door. crack! Although muffled, he could still hear it. Rip! The bullet broke through the door and hit Smith in the leg, causing him to stumble and fall down the stairs. Hitting his head on the way down. ---------FLASHBACK--------- "It's not everyday you get a promotion! You're going to be the head welder at the train yard! Don't tell me your not excited!" Swift says, gently pushing on MetalSmith with a hoof. Sighing, he stands up from the couch and walks over to the window, looking out in the direction his shop is. "I am happy. I am excited. My pay will double. It's just that..." He stops with a sigh, then turns back to his wife. "I'll have to stay there on weekdays. I'll have to sleep in their dormitory. And besides, you'll only see me on weekends instead of everyday." He tells her. "That's fine! I promise, after a few months, we'll be able to afford something way better than this little apartment in a crowded city. We'll be able to move out into the country and be frontier ponies." Swift says, punctuating her statement with a giggle. Smith sighs, walking over to her. "Sorry honey, but you still can't use a can opener. I doubt you could survive out there." He says, finishing their debate with a kiss. -------PRESENT DAY------- Gasping for air, Smith wakes up with a jerk, sitting up in the alleyway. Looking over himself, he takes note of the bullet wound in his hind left leg. No other injuries except, probably, a concussion. Looking at his gun, he wonders why the others didn't take it. Shrugging to himself, he stands up and shakes off. Pain needling up his shot leg. Wincing, he walks out the alley, knowing he needs to get the leg taken care of. 'the Griffons!' he thinks to himself, taking to the sky. But he can't get to far with a wound like that. The flying well pump the blood right out of him. He needs to make it quick. Without exerting himself. While still in the air, he takes off the holster and places it over the wound, wincing. Then, he tightens it down, making the holster keep continued pressure on the wound. Flying higher, he looks out where the Griffon's cabin is. Smith lands in front of the cabin door, staggering once hitting the ground. Even with that makeshift tourniquet the he lost quite a bit of blood. Doing his best, he leans against the door and knocks. With no response, be knocks harder. Knowing that if he waited any longer that he would be dead for sure, he opened the door, falling into the cabin. Waking Gabby. "Who's t- MetalSmith!" She shouts, jumping up from the cot and sprinting over. Using a clawed hand, she lifts him up onto her back and brings him over to the cot. He falls into it with an 'oof'. Gabby removes the holster to see the bleeding wound. She tsks at the unconscious stallion. "Let's get you fixed up." ------FLASHBACK------ "Jack." Smith says, knocking on son's door. "Jack, come on. I'll see you this Saturday." Hearing nothing from his son, he opens the door. "Jack?" "What, dad?" Jack responds, looking up from a book. "Did you hear anything I said?" Smith asks, walking in and reshutting the door. "Yeah, you'll be gone this week but back on the weekend only to leave again. I got it." He responds coldly, looking back to his book. Smith walks over. "I have to. Soon we'll be able to get out of this little apartment. We can get our own house. We won't have to move ever again!" Smith says, trying to get his son to join in his enthusiasm. "Yeah, we won't move again. Until the world ends." ----------PRESENT DAY---------- MetalSmith groans, turning over to the direction of the heat source, struggling to opened his eyes. Once his eyes open, they go from cross-eyed and blurry, to normal and clear. "We've really got to stop meeting like this, MetalSmith." Gabby says, sitting by the fire. She smiles as Smith gets out of the cot. Placing his hooves on the floor, he attempts to stand up. But once the weight is on his hooves he falls down. "Dammit!" Gabby curses, standing up and running over to him, picking him up off the floor. "Careful, you lost a lot of blood. It's a miracle you made it here." "W-what happened?" Smith asks, laying back into the cot. "Well, as far as I can tell, you were shot. Almost died from blood loss. And just now fell on your face." She says, laughing slightly. Smith looks away embarrassedly. Recalling that there are supposed to be two more Griffons, he looks back at her. "What happened to the other two?" He asks, she walks back over to the hearth. "They're dead..." She says solemnly. Smith sighs. "When?" "Soon after you left yesterday. They went out to hunt, left me to watch the cabin. They found a nice deer in the woods not to far from here. Soon after shooting it, the Trotters moved in, hearing the shot. They were caught off guard. The Trotters got them." Gabby says, sniffling. She hangs her head and the sizzling of tears hitting flame is audible. Feeling bad for her, Smith struggles to get up. Climbing off the cot and straining to stand, Smith wobbles over to Gabby. Placing his left foreleg over her neck, she jumps. Lifting her head out of her talons she looks at him. Tears streaking her feathered face. "Have you had to kill one yet?" She asks, he shakes his head. "I haven't either. Griffons can't turn like ponies do." "Really?" "Yeah. But that doesn't mean they can't be eaten. A unicorn made it into my home and started to eat my sister. Tristan managed to be flying by and killed it. But my sister already had her.... Her.... She was going to die anyway. But I didn't want to have her suffer. So I took a kitchen knife and..." "It's alright." Smith says, hugging her. "Thanks MetalSmith." She says, the smile audible in her voice. "Of coarse." He tells her, pulling away from the hug. She wipes her face with a talon and throws a piece of wood on the fire. MetalSmith walks back over to the cot and sits on it. "You hear about what's happening in Canterlot?" Smith asks. Gabby turns around and shakes her head. "No, what's happening?" She inquires. "The princesses are sheltering survivers in the castle. Taking in anypony they can." Smith says. Gabby's eyes widen. "Really!?" She asks. "Yeah! My wife left me a note saying she's heading there. Mabey we can meet her!" Smith says, excitedly. Gabby nods. "You are going, right?" "Yeah. No reason for me to stay here now." She says. "Leave in the morning?" "Yes." Smith says, nodding. Then laying back onto the cot. "In the morning." "MetalSmith." Gabby says, shaking him awake. He opens his eyes to look at her. "I think it best if we leave now." She tells him. He nods. Leaving him to get up, Gabby walks over to the fire to put it out. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and yawning, Smith rolls over off the cot and lands on his hooves. Once his weight is on the shot leg, he falls. "Oh, Smith!" Gabby exclaims, starting to head over to help him. Metal waves her off. Planting his three good legs onto the floor, he pushes up. Eventually standing upright, his wounded leg held up. "Ok. Gabby." He starts, looking over to the Griffon. "What?" She asks, successfully putting out the fire. "Where's my gun?" He asks, hopping over to her. Thinking for a second, then sticking a claw in the air. "Ah! Your jerry-rigged bandage?" She asks, smirking. He looks at her sternly. "It's all I had." "Yeah yeah. Over here." She says, getting up and walking over to a chest. Taking a key from under the rug next to it, she unlocks the chest, swinging open the lid. "We stored all valuables in this chest here. So I stuck your weapon here too. For safe keeping." She tells him, grabbing a holster caked in blood. "Thanks." He tells her, grabbing it with his right wing. "Y'know, I have a spare one that should hold your Calibre." She informs him, grabbing another leg holster from the chest. Yanking Smith's out of his wing grasp, a she removes his gun and places it in the clean one. "Oh. Thank you!" He happily says. Taking the holster, he places it on his left forearm. "It's nice! A lot more comfortable than my last one." He tells her, getting a happy smile In return. "That's good, because I have a hunch that that holster will make it's home on your leg." She says to him. "So... Off to Canterlot?" She asks. Smith nods walking over to the door. "Off to Canterlot!"
'Minor' ComplicationsAuthor's Note Sorry for the delayed chapter. I've been writing 'Bones for the taking' because ideas are flowing! Smith must have some kind of brain damage. Damn. 'Minor' Complications "So... What's the route we're taking?" MetalSmith asks Gabby, stopping her from leaving the cabin. "Oh... Yeah... That's something we have to find, huh?" She says, giggling embarrassedly, turning around to look at him. Smith nods, attempting not to catch the contagious laughter. Smiling sheepishly, Gabby closes the door and heads over to the cot. Smith follows suit. Grabbing the saddlebags of her flank, she places them onto the cot. The buckles unsnap and the bags open. Digging around until she finds the rolled up paper. "This here is a map of all Equestria. Nabbed it from a store after I escaped Griffinstone." She tells Smith while unrolling the map. The map was well worn. So much that Smith doubted it was 'nabbed from a store'. In the center was a tower like mountain holding the royal castle off to the side. "Here's where we are." Gabby points out, placing a claw on the forest just outside of Manehatten. "Our best bet of not dying and possibly meeting more survivors is here." Her claw then moves up the map and stopping on the railway tunnel. "The railroad?" Smith asks, looking up at her in disbelief. She looks up to meet his gaze with a nod. "The railroad. With luck. Nopony will be hostile." "Yeah..." He says. Hoping for the same luck. With that, Gabby puts the map away, closes the bag and throws it onto her flank. "Ouch!" Smith exclaims as a branch smacks him in the face. "Ooh. Sorry!" Gabby giggles, walking through the brush. Smith behind her. Continuing in silence until they broke through the brush, ending up in a small clearing that contained the tracks in the middle of it. On the other side where the forest started again was a few Trotters. "Oh thank Celestia they're Earth ponies." Gabby says, pointing to the four across from them. Smith nods. "You have a knife or something I could use? All I have is my forty-four." Smith whispers. Gabby shakes her head. "I've got nothing. We'll have to sneak past them." Gabby informs Smith, waving him back into the woods. "Where are w-" "Shhh!" She silences him. They walk to the left of where the Trotters where seen. Being careful to keep silent. FBOOMFBOOM!! The sound of an over-under shotgun rattles through the forest, making Gabby jump. Smith already has Reliable in his mouth. Crouching low, Smith starts to make his way out of the woods. FBOOMFBOOM!! "Smith!" Gabby strains to be quiet. "Smith! Don't!" He blows her off with a flick of his tail, continuing to walk to the tracks. Brushing of the remaining branches, he stands up and looks over to where the Trotters where. With those gone, he looks to the tracks. FBOOM! WIZZ! The pellets from the shotgun fly above Smith. CRACK! Smith shoots his gun towards where he last heard the shot. "WOAH WOAH WOAH!!!" A stallion runs out, holding the shotgun with a wing. "Hey w-" CRACK! Smith pulls the trigger again, hitting the stallion In the chest, dropping him close to instantly. Smith trots over and picks up the shotgun with a wing. He breaks the top open and checks the load. Both live. "Wha-" The stallion tries to speak, causing him to hack up blood. "Why?" Smith looks down at the stallion sadly. "What's your name?" Smith asks, causing the stallion to look up at him confusedly. "What?" He cough up more blood. "Name. What's your name?" Smith repeats. "Sandy Beach." This time the blood came up as clots. "I'm sorry... Sandy Beach." Smith says, closing the shotgun. Placing the muzzle over Sandy's head. "What? W!" More hacking. "I'm sorry." He says again, pulling the trigger, killing Sandy. Smith and Gabby walk down the tracks, smothered in silence. Gabby staying a safe distance away to Smith's right. "I can't believe you did that." Gabby says, not closing the distance between them. Smith just looks away. Another ten minutes pass, the silence becomes defining to Gabby. "Why is it you did that!?" She shouts, looking over to him. He keeps his gaze ahead. "The first shot, the shot that crippled him, was unintentional. The second shot, when I killed him, was a mercy shot. Not only did he not suffer, but he didn't turn into one of those.... Things." Smith replies, placing the over-under in his bag, along side the shells and bandages found in Sandy's bags. "He was trying to talk! He was trying to become friends!" She insists. "By the time that registered, I had already pulled the trigger. All that was in my mind was that he tried to kill me. I could feel the BBs on my mane." Smith says calmly, doing his best to not lose it. "He was trying... To talk...." Gabby says, looking down and sniffling. The tunnel they have been heading for has been in view for at least an hour. Growing closer painstakingly slowly. The two walked in silence, not a word said since the argument. Stopping at the opening of the cave, Gabby hisses, grabbing MetalSmith's attention. "How much ammo you got?" She asks. Smith turns to look at her. "Why?" He asks. "Just... Answer me." She growls. Smith sighs and grabs his saddle bags of his flank with a wing and sets it on the ground. Opening the bag with the gold plated shotgun sticking out, he counts the shells. "I've got ten shells, twelve counting the two in the gun. Then I have four left in Reliable." He informs Gabby. "Ok." She watches him close the bag and put it back on. "Why did you want to know?" "Taking inventory. We don't know how many are in there. Or how long it is. So it's good to be prepared!" She fakes a smile. "Uh huh..." Smith said, unconvinced. "How many bandages yeh got there?" He asks her, pointing to her saddlebags. "Well... Let's see." She takes off her bags and digs through them. "Enough, in case you get bitten or hurt yourself." He nods at her then looks towards the tunnel. The tunnel was dark, and because neither MetalSmith or Gabby had anything to light it, it would stay that way. Slight raspy breathing could be heard, far away enough to not cause worry. Water dripping gave a tempo for them to walk. Which was a hasty speed. "Hold on." Gabby whispers, both of them stopping. "Do you hear that?" Straining to hear, Smith closes his eyes, concentrating on the sounds. The dripping of water, creaking of stone, breathing of Gabby. The faint hoofsteps of Trotters. "I hear it. Doesn't sound like they're very close." Smith tells her. But just to be safe, he removes the shotgun from his bag with a wing. Keeping it pointed forward. "What we going to do?" She asks worriedly. Eyes straining to look at Smith. "You're going to stay behind me. And since we can't see very well, if I'm taken down, you run. Run back to the entrance of the tunnel. Find another way to Canterlot." He says, looking in her direction. Gabby nods, realising he can't see her. "Ok." Turning back towards where they're walking, they notice something. It's a red Dot, moving slowly back and forth far ahead. "Let's be careful." Smith says, starting forward. As the light got closer, the snarling got louder. Soon, MetalSmith was smart enough to put two and two together. "Those are Trotters." He says quietly to Gabby. "What!?" "Those lights. They're Trotters." He repeats. The amount of lights grew. From two to countless. "Well... We'll have to find a way through them. Mabey over. You can fly right?" Smith asks Gabby. "No, these wings are decorative." If he could see her, she would be smirking. "Anyway. Lets try and fly over them. I just hope they can't see in the dark." MetalSmith expands his wings, hearing Gabby do the same. "Alright Smithy, i'm--" "Never going to call me that again." "Fine, MetalSmith, I'll fly alongside the right side of the tunnel. And to avoid colliding with each other, I suggest you fly alongside the left." She tells him. "Alright." Simultaneously they shoot into the air, causing a large gust of wind to make it's way down both sides of the tunnel. "And Gabby. See you on the other side." "You shoulda said that when we entered the cave." She jokes. Smiling, Smith flies to the left. Finding the wall, he flies alongside it. Quietly as possible, watching the red lights pass below him. Slowly, carefully, slowly, caref- Crack! Smith slams his head into a giant rock. "AH! SHH!!" he hushes himself, falling to the ground, holding his head. The growling gets louder, Smith unable to notice, his head throbbing and bleeding. Pushing harder onto his head trying to stop the bleeding, Smith thrusts his wings, attempting to get high enough to stay away from the Trotters. His wings twitching as he ascends, the pain becoming too much. Needling down his spine, into his wings. Spasming, his wings falter, causing him to fall and slam against the ground. Hitting his right side, he feels something snap, but the pain doesn't compare to the skull fracture. FWOOM! The sound of a spotlight turning on, followed by the crack of a rifle, effectively causing Smith to go temporarily deaf. Only now and then does a louder shot make it through to Smith, deafining him even more. Holding both hooves on his bleeding head, he looks up. Dead Trotters are scattered around, their blood painting the walls. Standing above him a grey earthpony stallion. Holding an assault rifle. "It's you." He says flatly, hitting Smith in the forehead with the gun, effectively knocking him out. Gabby exits the tunnel, breathing in the fresh air happily. A small breeze ruffling her wings. Then a muffled crack eminates from the cave. Whipping around, she listens carefully. "Smith?" She lightly shouts, getting no response. "Smith!?" Louder this time. When no response comes, she runs back into the cave. "Smith!!" Running to where she thinks they split up, she feels around. Squelch. She feels something wet and warm. Panic coursing through her. Is this Smith?! Is he dead!? She feels up and down the corpse, unintentionally putting her hand into a bloody hole in it's torso. Taking no attention to it, she feels around to the flank. No saddlebags. That's good. Moving her head up, she looks all around. She knows something's different. Something's, off. No more red lights. All the Trotters are dead. "METALSMITH!!" Gabby yells, her voice echoing throughout the cave. "Please don't be dead!" Smith groans, the headache head splitting. Close to literally. MetalSmith tries to sit up, but the straps on the cot prevent that from happening. Not so much as a wiggle is possible. Taking note of what he's in, Smith looks around. Tan tent, scraps of cardboard and plastic scattered around the room. Boxes stacked close to the ceiling. Floor was dirt, and no sunlight made it through the fabric of the tent. The only light being the oil lamp next to Smith's restraints. "Well well well." A voice drifts from the front of the tent. "Look who's come to." Snickering can be heard, as well as the staccato crunch of hooves on the dirt. "Mmmph!!" Metal attempts to speak, but suddenly realizing that the bandage around his muzzle be is preventing that. "Don't bother." The voice calls. Now coming from the left of the tent. The bandages holding his snout closed prevent his jaw from moving at all. Forcing him to breath through his nose. The grey stallion shows himself, appearing from behind a stack of boxes. "Your awake." He says again, looking at MetalSmith, who's Beginning to hyperventilate. "Careful now. Do that and you'll pass out. You're lucky I don't just kill you now. Seeing as you killed Sandy." He says coldly, glaring down at MetalSmith. Smith's nostrils flair, trying to get enough oxygen to his racing heart. Not enough. Smith's vision gets black around the edges, seeping into the middle. Until finally, Darkness.
A Qwick SaveAuthor's Note I know this chapter was considerably shorter and choppier, but it's waaaaay overdue, so heres a short chapter. A Qwick Save Gabby continues to feel around the different corpses littering the pitch dark tunnel. Every now and then her talons brush up on casings and shells. Beginning to put things together. MetalSmith's not here. What happened? She asks herself, continuing to feel around for something useful. Shell, casing, casing, shell, giant shell. Wait. picking up the 'giant shell' and feeling around, one thing becomes apparent. Then her opposable talon hits something rubber. Pushing on it, a bright and blinding beam of light emanates right toward her. Startled, Gabby drops the flashlight and falls backward. Blinking a few times and rubbing her eyes, they eventually adjust to the bright light on the floor a few hooves in front of her. Clambering back to her hooves/talons, she steps to the flashlight. "There must be another Griffon or a Dragon with whoever took Smith. Ponies don't have talons, or digits at all, to turn on a flashlight like this." She speaks to herself, sweeping the tunnel with light. Aiming the light towards a pile of boulders from where she came, she realized why Smith never made it. On his side of the tunnel was a collapse. And with it being so dark, he wouldn't of seen it. Then something flashed gold. Preying to Celestia it wasn't Smith's shotgun, the trots over. To find a gold plated, over under shotgun. Ignoring the gun, she searches franticly for any other sign of smith. Around the shotgun were scattered live shells. It's as if Smith's saddlebag was torn open. A few bandages around the shells. "You where holdin' out on me Smith." Gabby giggles to herself in an attempt to lighten her mood. Bending down and picking up the bandages, she puts them in the same side as her others. Placing the flashlight on the ground, illuminating what she's looking at. Then, grabbing the shells and putting them in the saddlebag on her left, she picks up the shotgun. "How... How did Smith open this" She whispers, looking over the top. Her eyes rest on a lever. "Could this be it?" Pushing the lever up, to no avail, she huffs. Thinking back to the entrance of the tunnel, when Metalsmith checked the rounds. "He pushed it to the right!" She says, louder than a whisper. Putter her thumb-talon onto the lever and pushing it right. Then breaking it open, two shells eject out. "Damn, spent." She says, looking at the empty shells on the ground. Digging two more shells out of her bag, she loads the shotgun. "Well, this is a good place to start looking for smith." She sighs, closing the shotgun then picking up the flashlight. The smell of wax bombard MetalSmith's nostrils, forcing him awake. His eyes fluttering open to a different tent. White fabric and a giant red plus on the ceiling. Trying to sit up, but the pain in his head keeping him from moving it. "Wha-?" "Doon't strain yerself." Somepony tells him. Wincing and straining, Smith manages to turn his head to the left. Other cots scattered with ponies and griffins lay around the tent. Small, metal trays lay behind each cot. Sitting at a desk near the door is a brown coated stallion. Under his flat cap is a Green, flat mane. Even though sitting and facing towards him, Smith can clearly see the stallions Cutie Mark. A golf club and ball with three scratch marks behind it. "What? Who are you?" Metal asks, making his vision go blurry. "What'd ah seh? Doon't. Strain. Yerself." He repeats, standing up and grabbing a small yellow bottle with his mouth. Quickly trotting over to Smith, he places the bottle on the tray behind Smith's cot. Opening the bottle and shaking two pills out, grabbing a cup off the tray holding them out to Smith. "Take eet." Smith turns his head away. "Oh don't be a babay, theere joost pain keelers." Groaning, Smith looks back to him. Though reluctant, he's yearning for the pain to go away. Opening his mouth, letting the stallion put the pills into his mouth. Then, putting the cup to Smith's lips, he tips the liquid into his mouth. Swallowing the pills and wincing, he sighs. "They'll keek een soon." The stallions says, putting the cup back onto the tray, "Was that alcohol?" The stallion chuckles. "Yeah, eet usually helps me geet teh stuff down." He thinks for a second. "Yoo deedent spit eet out like others yooshualy doo." "Yeah." Smith laughs slightly before coughing. "I've drowned myself in that stuff many times..." He sighs. "Speekin' of death. Yer lucky Qweeck deedent kill ya when he found ya. Seeing as yeh keeled his best friend." "Yeah, Sandy." Smith says sadly. "What's yer name? ahm Leegue." the stallions asks, identifying himself as 'League'. "Metalsmith." Gabby looks around the cave, trying for any sign of where smith could've gone. Scanning the dirt floor of the cave, back and forth, moving slowly. Until she sees something. Moving closer to inspect it, Gabby laughs with disbelief. "They have a fuckin' tank. Well, best place to start. I can't be to far behind. They had to of left not to long ago." She says to herself, pointing the flashlight towards where the tracks lead. "Well well well. Now look who's come to... again." A grey earth-pony stallion walks into the medical tent, tsking. Glancing over to League, who has disappeared.. "Who the hell are you?!" Metalsmith shouts, now feeling considerably better. "Who the hell am I? Well, I'm Qwick." He smirks evilly. "And you, MetalSmith, are now mine." "Excuse me?" Smith asks in disbelief, sitting up. "Well," He starts, walking further into the tent. "I saved you, and now..." He extends a pair of metal wings. "I. OWN. YOU." Gabby exits the tunnel, daylight momentarily blinding her. Making her unable to see the Pegasus Trotter walking her way. She continues to walk forward, covering her eyes with her talons, and slamming into the trotter. Knocking both herself and the trotter over. She uncovers her eyes, finally able to see. She groans, watching the trotter climb back to its hooves. Behind it. A hoard. "Shiiiiiiiiit."
