DISASTER

by PBJFanFiction

Rating: teen
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Original Character, Science Fiction, Profanity, Adventure, Violence
Length: 5714

When the world is frozen, ponies have to do what it takes to survive. A user-choice driven story.

The Sun and Moon are gone.

Equestria was plunged into a deep winter, a cold, heartless wasteland. Ponies had to do something. So they retreated underground, establishing a mining colony that stretched across the cities of Equestria. They started with isolated sections and slowly built across, creating many tunnels that stretch between the cities. Everything was heated through magical generation built with a mix of pony ingenuity, technology, and magic.

That failed. Everything is cold. It's warmer than the surface, but ponies die of hypothermia daily. Without heat, food stopped growing, and water froze, and more wasn't able to be processed from the snow above. Ponies hurt each other, forces into shattered remnants of what was once a happy society, living in peace and harmony.

This is a user-led story! You help shape where the story goes with your input.

Published 2018-04-04 08:00:06 UTC
Last updated 2018-07-26 04:01:14 UTC

Lost Wanderer

Windrunner blinked open her eyes, raising a hoof to wipe the sleep away. Her green eyes darted around as she sat up. Mist bloomed in front of her as she exhaled, flowing out in a cloud of translucent white.

The pegasus stood, shaking the light frost that gathered on her messy, blue mane. Pulling her hood over her head, she glanced left and right. The empty, dark halls, all the same. She heard the creaking of frosty metal above her, the flickering of a halogen stick lamp that refused to light.

Despite only having recently awoken she was active immediately, beginning to do a few stretches, checking her saddlebags to find the contents inside. A half-empty bottle of water. A sachet of preserved, dried vegetables. An empty can.

Windrunner’s stomach growled. She was hungry, but not enough to warrant wasting what little food she had. She would wait until she found more food to indulge in what little she had.

The trip began, Windrunner’s hoofsteps echoing around the flat, metal walls. She was used to walking. Most of her journey underground was walking. She viewed it not as a tiresome task but as an exciting journey forth, not knowing where she was going. Danger did excite her somewhat.

And so she walked, and with that, she reminisced about past events.

Three years ago, Equestria was plunged into a dark winter. Windrunner knew it all, she was there for it, all those years ago when the Sun and Moon went out. She was with them as her home, Cloudsdale, was lowered to the ground, to prevent the pegasi living there dying of hypothermia.

Windrunner forced herself to stop her gait, gritting her teeth in painful remembrance. Her home was destroyed. The clouds were torn apart, dispersed across Equestria to try and keep any leftover ground heat in.

Well, look where that effort went. Windrunner shook her head. It was a fruitless effort to cry over spilled milk when in the grand scope of things, it was a minor downfall and a very valiant effort to save Equestria, but in the end it was useless.

Windrunner looked up, ahead at her eventual target. She began walking again, letting her mind be almost lost in the rhythmic clopping of her hooves against the floor. It was comforting. She could get completely lost in the repetitive sound, like the ticking of a clock.

But she didn’t. Instead, she was partially alert, making sure there was no threat to herself. Every strange noise would have her right wing flick downwards towards the sheath containing her only form of self-defense: her knife. It was kept sharp on the metal walls, for she did not know when she would need to use it.

Every time she heard noises, she wouldn’t stop walking, keeping her gait rhythmic. It was mostly the sound of distant rending metal and the distant shout. Sound carries long distances in empty halls.

Eventually, she reached a new destination - a small crossroads that probably had a community in it before they froze to death. They had built a store room. Windrunner turned and walked into there, finally stopping her walk to pause and look around the nearly empty room. They probably took what they could and ran to bigger shelters when the cold got worse.

She opened the flap of her saddlebag, beginning to look through the few cardboard boxes left on the shelves, the shelves rattling noisily each time she pulled out a dusty cardboard box. She found very little. A half-empty bottle of water, a small nutrient bar, and a single short can of tomato paste. She treated herself to the nutrient bar, grateful for being able to satisfy her malnourishment for another day, and saved the rest for later.

Her ears perked up as she finished the bar, hearing hoofsteps from somewhere outside the store room. They were really close and approaching fast.

Windrunner was cornered in the store room. She had to find an alternate exit, and she usually knew what to do. Heading to her right, she drew her knife in her right wing and quietly pried open a vent grate before crawling inside the large space. She was able to crawl and easily rotate herself to pull the grate back into place just as a quadruped form entered the room.

They wore a hood over their face and only the hint of a cream colored muzzle poked out of the hood. The figure looked around the room, passing the boxes that Windrunner was just looting out of. They passed right by the vent grate, close enough that Windrunner could hear their breathing. Windrunner backed away slowly before hauling herself up a change in elevation, quietly crawling away from danger.

It was dark inside the tunnel, nearly impossible to see. She took a right, then a left, eventually pushing open a vent grate and hopping down from the roof to the floor.

Windrunner had found herself in an office room. Perfect! She searched the place. Desks with flipped and broken chairs littered around, in a semi-cubicle formation. There was one boxy computer sitting on the desk.

Drawing up a chair, Windrunner sat down at the terminal and flicked on the switch on the side. The screen lit up, and the operating system flickered to life. Green text flashed across the screen, spelling out, ‘SeallOS’ before the system booted up.

Welcome, Steel Wrench! It has been 493 days since last login.

The text disappeared after a few seconds, the user interface taking its turn to show. There were four separate folders to look at. There was a private file intended for the computer only. There was a public file, likely intended for the entire office. A telegram message, which when selected would play through the single, tinny speaker on the front of the boxy computer.

Windrunner decided to do a little snooping. Selecting the private file first, the empty screen space on the left filled with text.

Hello from Seall.

Welcome to your new SeallOS Terminal model Y600. Please consult your manual for information.

We hope you enjoy the use of our product,
Seall Corp.

Windrunner navigated to a later message. She’d seen the welcome message many times before, but she always checked it, hoping it was different. Next was the public message, and the short welcome message from Seall was replaced with a different set of text.

Hey guys,

So the commander finally got us the codes. Took him ages to do it. Here we are, I’ve made sure to use our internal cipher, so please refer to our chart for info.

Canterlot
%^}+
Ponyville
{]%#

Windrunner didn’t bother to read the rest. It was just garbage codes she couldn’t use. It listed most of the main city shelters, but there was no way to solve the code without the cipher chart mentioned. Windrunner took a cursory glance around the small room, her search not giving her any useful data.

She turned back to the terminal, selecting the audio message. The speaker crackled, and a quiet voice emitted from the grill in the front of the computer.

“This is Manehattan Shelter, calling in.

We need your help out here. Something exploded and killed our crew. We have fixed the fire, but our generator is busted and we are running on backup power. Please bring your crew here as soon as possible.”

The transmission ended abruptly. Windrunner shook her head, assuming that whoever got that message probably didn’t return, if the login date was anything to go by.

She flicked the switch, the screen going dark. She pushed back and stood, stretching quickly before shrinking back down, the cold reaching her again.

With that done, she saw not too much use left in the office. She picked out a few trinkets here and there, just some things like a screwdriver and a wrench. Then again, such tools could go a long way.

Now, for Windrunner, it was time to continue on her journey. She pushed open a door, greeted once again by cold halls. Choosing to go rightward, she shut the door behind her and continued her walk.

She was more aware this time. She knew somepony else was here and said pony would probably not be friendly. Her gait was quieter, as keeping her volume down was key.

But not all was right. Not long into her walk, she could hear hooves in front of her approaching around a nearby corner.

Windrunner glanced around. She needed to avoid this pony until she could assess their danger. Spotting a vent grate a bit further back, she quickly spread her wings and beat them once, grabbing onto the vent cover and pulling it off, the cover clattering to the ground loudly as she pulled herself into the vent.

The sound of hooves turned into a run as the pony sprinted towards the dropped vent. Windrunner peered over the edge, looking down the hole carefully.

The same pony from before approached the fallen grate and promptly then looked up. Windrunner ducked her head, hiding from view. The pony quickly ran off, their hoofsteps unsteady.

Windrunner dropped down quietly, using her wings to land with little noise. She continued in the direction she was heading, hoping to avoid danger rather than run face first into it.

It was thankfully quiet for the journey onward, Windrunner deciding to take a quick break once she reached her first proper location in a while. To her left was the remnants of a small community. To the right was a transit station. The MagicLev trains were implemented late into the colonization of the Underground and were soon deactivated to conserve what little power could be generated once the Shelters began to fail and the system began to collapse.

She decided to go to the MagicLev station. The first barrier was some turnstiles, easy to get over. The second would be the glass paneling, looking into the tunnel where the fast trains would go. The station extended to her left and right, and was pretty rudimentary and basic.

There wasn’t much to find here, so Windrunner turned back. Her ears perking upwards, she slowly crept through the desolate remains of the small town. Few lights still worked, lighting up small stands filled with rotten food, rusted trinkets, and other such items. The area seemed to be a shopping district.

Windrunner took flight in the medium-sized atrium, hovering in the middle. There was a second floor, glass and metal barriers preventing ponies from falling down. She flew onto the second floor, snapping her wings shut as soon as she landed, shivering.

Storefronts lined the walls, most of them shut with metal gates that would retract into the roof when the stores would open. There was probably a lot to be had inside, but they were locked shut unless you had the proper tools to make a break-in.

There was nothing really useful. Not even in the rubbish bins. Windrunner trotted up to the railing, leaning on it and looking over the atrium. It was quiet, and Windrunner got a moment to breathe in slowly, taking in the silence in a moment of mute serenity.

Then she noticed it. A shadowy figure. Looking at her with softly glowing yellow eyes. Windrunner locked eyes with the figure, who blinked once before darting behind the corner. There was a clatter and the sound of a pony crawling through the overhead vents.

Now was a time to be alert. The thumping of the pony roaming the vents sent chills through Windrunner’s fur, making it stand on end.

And then, it slowly faded. The mystery pony was making their escape. Windrunner let out a breath she was holding, the mist spreading out before her.

The pony seemed hesitant to get closer to Windrunner. Windrunner thought they must have been scared and that’s what caused them to dash off. She couldn’t have seen the pony well, so she couldn’t have told if it was the same one from before or not.

Once again shrugging it off for the time being, Windrunner hopped the railing, gliding down to the ground floor. Tucking her wings to her sides upon landing, she ran towards the MagicLev station and took a left at the intersection, running down the long hall.

She was starting to get spooked by the pony that kept following her. What did they want? Why are they following her so adamantly?

She gasped. What if they wanted to take what she had? She stopped running, her heart pumping. Talking a small sip of water, she let herself take a break for half a minute before continuing at a walk.

She needed to keep calm. Steeling herself was the only choice here. She couldn’t panic.

She sucked in a deep breath and let herself get lost in her walk again. It helped her stay calm, knowing that her walk was steady and even though she couldn’t see her goal, it was true.

It wasn’t long before she hit her next stop. It was a tall room, a simple air circulation vent. There was a low hum as it worked to circulate and purify the air, albeit at a slower rate. Windrunner noted the multiple ventilation shafts connecting to the room, and the giant turbine underneath a metal grate floor. It spun slowly.

Windrunner saw a simple control terminal in a control box to the side. She entered it and looked at the control. She smiled and pushed a button, making the air purification kick into second gear, performing at higher speed. It would serve to transfer any air from warmer areas to colder areas, and hopefully prevent any more permafrost.

The hum changed to a dull roar as the fan in the center spun faster, and a small breeze blew through the room. Windrunner exited the booth, hearing something peculiar.

There was a thumping noise that slowly got louder, and as she tried to discern what it was a hooded figure shot out of one of the open vents, squealing in surprise as they plummeted towards the ground, legs first.

Windrunner gasped as the pony landed, and there was a loud snap, followed by the pony crying out in a feminine tone. Windrunner couldn’t help but approach the figure and look at her.

She cringed. The pony had broken a hind leg, the appendage bending awkwardly. Windrunner grabbed the hood of the pony and yanked it back, rolling the hurt mare over and revealing her face.

Yellow, slitted eyes stared back at her, the pupils narrowing in fear. With the three legs she could use she scrambled backward, screaming in both fear and pain.

Windrunner could see her move her maw and with it came words. “D-don’t hurt me!” she cried, “Please!” She reached down to cradle the broken leg, the mare seething in pain.

Windrunner kept still, weighing her choices. She could threaten her, take her stuff and leave her to die… or she could help the mare. Surely she could make a makeshift splint.

The question was, what was the best decision?

Author's Note

And now we are faced with a choice.

Vote here. The vote will end when I think there are enough to determine a winner.
http://www.strawpoll.me/15430444

Strangers

The sound of machinery faded as Windrunner shut off the machine. She approached the mare who had recently broken her hind leg.

The mare looked up in fear. She was genuinely surprised when Windrunner pulled out scrap and began constructing a makeshift splint. It wasn’t professional work, but it would hold.

Windrunner’s ears perked as a voice reached her ears. It was soft and melodious, coming from the bat pony. “Why are you helping me…?” She looked both grateful and scared.

That gave Windrunner some pause. Why was she helping this mare? She eventually shrugged and sat next to her. “I’m not gonna leave somepony to bleed out from a broken leg. Speaking of which, I need to set it.” Windrunner walked around to the bat pony’s broken hind leg. She grimaced. “This is going to hurt.”

The mare cried out in pain, trying her hardest not to thrash against Windrunner and cause herself even more pain. Windrunner secured the splint onto her leg, not the best thing made, but it would do its job, hopefully.

Windrunner stepped back, eyeing the splint like it was going to break any second. She sighed, laying down next to the mare. “You alright?” she asked, a tone slipping out of her unheard in years.

“I-I think I’ll be alright.” The mare drew in a sharp intake of air through gritted teeth. “Yeah. I s-should be okay. T-thank you.” She managed a small smile.

Windrunner nodded and stood. “We shouldn’t remain here long. The vent flush will have brought the attention of starving ponies, or something.” She held out a hoof. “At least you look like you won’t eat me.” She chuckled, helping the bat mare onto her hooves. “You probably won’t be able to walk easily.”

The mare shrugged. “Well worth trying.” Ruffling her wings, she attempted to take a few steps, her hind hoof touching the ground rarely. She lost balance after ten paces, collapsing and groaning. “Never mind…”

Windrunner sighed and helped her up again, this time letting the mare use her side to lean on. “Let’s hope I don’t break a leg. Or else we will have to both die.”

The bat pony simply chuckled.

They both left the ventilation control room, and Windrunner directed them left. “We need to get you a place to lie down and find some real meds. I could really go for a real splint, or something.”

“Medical boxes would have been looted ages ago,” the mare pointed out, “Or well, stripped of everything useful. Could damn well use morphine too, to help numb the pain.”

“Yeah.” Windrunner cast her eyes at the mare, smiling softly. “What’s your story? Your name? What Shelter you went to? Did yours fail?”

A look passed over her face. “My name is Golden Glow,” she introduced herself, “And I… I was from Hollow Shades, down south. We had a shelter built for us, and it is actually still working today.”

“What?” Windrunner looked at her weirdly. “If your Shelter is still running…”

“I was kicked out,” she interrupted Windrunner, “I was kicked out from my own home for refusing to... reproduce.” She grumbled. “What a stupid reason to throw a mare into the cold. They didn’t even give me a jacket or anything, it was like execution! I’m glad I did find this coat.” She gestured to her dark cloak, which seemed a size too large for her.

“Barn door swing that way?” Windrunner took point, veering left into a small room. Inside was a broken terminal. It looked to be a security checkpoint, security glass overlooking another MagiLev station. She pulled open a file cabinet, tossing aside useless, frozen papers while Golden Glow took the moment to sit down in the chair.

“Oh, no, not that at all. I’m a stick when it comes to that. The males back home… they’re not the nicest bunch. Think they own us.” The bat pony shuddered. “Sometimes it’s better that I left that place.”

Windrunner nods in understanding. “Makes sense.” Finding nothing useful in the cabinets, she peers over at the faded map of the MagiLev stations. They were at “Junction 34B”. Not that far from Canterlot, a few miles off.

It was best to give Canterlot Shelter a wide berth anyways. Unless you wanted your head sliced clean off before you could make it close enough. But being close to the area meant that the power was still on, thanks to the still-functioning Core. And power meant heat.

Windrunner pointed out their location to Golden Glow. “It’s risky, but we could find somewhere warm for you to recover. Especially if we find some bone sealant or something. We just need to move down the MagiLev tracks and we are close enough to reach the Slums.”

“You sure it’s a safe bet?” Golden Glow peered at her. “The patrols could easily catch us, especially since I’m handicapped.”

Windrunner sighed. “What choice do we have? Your leg is broken. We either need warmth or assured safety. I’ll take warmth. It’s not much of a walk.” She pulled down the map off the wall and folded it, shoving it into her saddlebag. “There. We won’t get lost. Let’s take a look, Golden Glow. We can probably find some place to stay shortly.”

Golden nodded and stood painfully, leaning on Windy’s side as they went around and into the MagiLev station proper. The metallic tracks were broken and torn apart here, and a deactivated MagiLev train was docked in the station, leaning awkwardly towards the platform.

The duo crept inside the open doors and made their way to the front exit of the train. Windrunner sighed and helped Golden sit down on one of the metal seats before grabbing the emergency exit lever in her hooves and hauling it to the right. It gave a little at a time.

Then it broke in her hooves. Windrunner fell back, growling in frustration. “Really?!” she exclaimed, scrambling to her hooves and glancing out the other end of the door. It was too tight for them to go around the train, it blocked them off from the rest of the tunnel. Sitting down next to Golden Glow, she grumbled. “...what now?”

Golden Glow looked around a minute, then sat back, yawning. “You go look around some. I am gonna get some rest… see if you can find anything to heal this leg.”

Windrunner smiled and stood. “Will you be okay on your own?” She already knew the answer anyways. Seeing the nearest door and heading towards it, Windrunner wished Golden Glow well before leaving.

Going back into Junction 34B, Windrunner decided to poke around. This must have been somewhat populated, as there was a vent flush as well as a whole MagiLev station. The things weren’t cheap, so there must be something.

There was a shop in the station. It looked rather ransacked, but tin cans and scrap remained. Windrunner took this, knowing that it can be used for later if it is needed. The cashier even contained some bits, the small, false-gold coins faded to dull tin and silver. Since going underground, the gold was used for magical electronics, and most of the golden coins were melted down to expand the growing tunnels.

The back room contained nothing much either. A broken terminal in a small office cubicle, and some shelves devoid of any shopstock, save for a few items that aren’t really necessary for survival. Toys, magazines, the like. Windrunner picked up one of the brittle magazines, the pages frozen together. She could only read the cover.

This mare beats the cold with new fur-enhancing technique!

Windrunner shook her head, smiling as she put the magazine back on the shelf. That was before the systems started failing. After a moment of thought, Windrunner grabbed the magazine and shoved it in her saddlebags, hoping it would warm up and be dry enough to read eventually.

Leaving the store, Windrunner went up to the entrance of the MagiLev station. Turnstiles dotted the entrance, which Windrunner hopped, taking a look around the large area carved out. It seemed… strange that a place with such an odd name would be so… large. A huge, three-story atrium extended high above her head, not unlike where she and Golden had faced off earlier. It seemed to be a little more industrially focused, however. There was no frills, the place barren of any real decoration.

Moving through slowly, Windrunner passed a giant light fixture which had crashed into the floor from the roof, leaving a large impact in the stone floor. Small stones rolled under her hooves as she reached the opposite end of the atrium, where a small, double door entrance sat in the wall. A small, active terminal was on the side, which Windrunner approached.

The screen was cracked, black liquid spread across a decent chunk of the inner glass. Some text was still visible.

Admin T rmin l J34B
Do r op

Windrunner couldn’t really read the text itself, but she moved to the door. Giving it a shove she realised that it was actually unlocked, letting her into a stairwell leading down.

She shrugged, and continued down them. Flight after flight went down, and Windrunner could tell it was at least a degree warmer. Coming out into a small room filled with old, dusty computers, she finally was at the bottom.

She looked around the room. Shelves full of electronics, which some she shoved in her bags. There was some food too. Everything looked relatively untouched.

A single desk was alight with the glow of a terminal screen, illuminating a pony’s frozen corpse slumped over it. Windy grimaced as she pushed the body aside, watching it crumple and lay like a stone statue on the ground.

There was one terminal active on the desk, this time, not broken and fully legible as Windy hit the switch and turned it away from sleep mode. Wiping the dust off the screen revealed an open terminal reading one message.

I’m watching.

Raising an eyebrow, Windy hit a key which booted her to the menu. Must’ve been either a deterrent or an old prank. The main menu displayed its usual fare, with a single note.

Private log - Study 15
We are finally getting some sense from our testing. We know that there’s some link between the Elements of Harmony and the freeze. It’s too much of a coincidence that there’s been major instabilities every time their power has been used.

On the other hand, it seems we’ve had our first success in creating machines able of getting to the surface. Using test subject 44BH, we were finally able to get a simple transmitter working directly from the brain without the daunting paperwork that comes with killing somepony.

Maybe we can finally see ourselves coming back to the surface and finding out how to end this crisis, if it’s possible.

Windrunner felt her fur stand on end. These ponies were trying to do live experiments on living ponies. She couldn’t decide if she wanted to be mad or scared. She backed out of the message.

I am watching you. I know you’re there. Stealing from the lab, accessing private terminals.

Her breathing became heavy as the text flickered across the screen in quick succession.

I’ll be meeting you soon unless you get out of here.

Windrunner needed no warning. Kicking back the chair she was on, she bolted out of the room, and darted up the stairs, bounding up multiple at a time. To her horror, resounding through the stairwell was a metallic THUNK as something started to clamber up behind her, moving up the stairs at an alarming pace.

Letting out a shrill cry of terror, Windrunner ran out of the unlocked doors into the atrium, the figure still chasing her up the stairs. She spun around to see something in the relative shape of a pony starting to come up the final flight, their eyes glowing a piercing red.

Windrunner slammed the door in its face, and kicked the terminal on the wall clean off. The door clunked as a deadbolt moved into place automatically, locking it.

What the fuck was that? Windrunner thought in her head, starting to very briskly make her way up to the MagiLev station. Her heart pounded like a hammer on an anvil and blood roared in her ears. That was a little close for comfort.

“Windy, is that you?” Golden Glow’s voice echoed across the station’s walls. Windy sighed in relief, knowing that the mare was okay.

“Yes, it’s me.” Windrunner entered the train, collapsing and shaking in pure terror.

The yellow batpony immediately leaned down and frowned with worry. “Oh my goodness, are you alright? You look like you saw a manticore…”

Windy shuddered. “I was… something chased me, but I got away from it.” She crawled up onto the seat, laying down and panting heavily. She took a sip out of her water bottle before curling up. “It had glowing red eyes… I… it was watching me access the terminals. Spoke to me through them.”

“How about we find a place to get out of here, then?” Golden Glow shakily stood, limping out and peering at the train. “Hey, if you could climb on top of the train, we could probably squeeze above it.”

Windrunner got up and looked up at the train’s roof from the outside. Indeed there was a relatively small gap. It would be difficult to fit through, but it would provide them with a way out of there.

“Here. I’ll try to get up there.” Windrunner leapt shortly after, pulling herself up and attempting to squeeze through the gap. It wasn’t as hard as she thought, her thin form sliding through. She crouched under the train’s roof - there was only so much space to crawl in. She peeked through the gap, and helped Golden Glow haul herself into the tight space. The batmare’s eyes glowed softly in the dark.

Windrunner crawled only a few tail-lengths forward before sliding down the conical surface of the train’s cabin. She landed upright on the cold metal of the tracks. “Cmon, Glow! It’s safe down here.”

With both of them down, they limped down the track. Windrunner helped her along, letting a small smile grace her face. At least she wasn’t freezing.

The smile fell.

Why am I so quick to trust her? The thought prodded her mind. Why was she so fast to trust somepony she had just met?

She wasn’t sure. But she couldn’t let the wool be drawn over her eyes - she needed to keep an eye out for her.

Besides, even if Golden Glow killed Windrunner in her sleep, Windrunner wouldn’t mind. Being dead is probably better than cold sometimes.

They had been walking for a while. The duo decided to stop after a good half hour of walking down the long tunnel. Windy knew that they hadn’t covered much distance from the lab, but she could only hope that whatever was in there doesn’t get out.

She yawned, a sign that maybe it was time to find a place to rest. They could find a warm shelter when they weren’t tired. Windrunner looked over to Golden Glow. “You alright?”

She nods slowly. “A bit tired and in some pain, but I’m okay.” She gritted her teeth a moment and let out a sigh. “Yeah. Only a bit.”

Windrunner empathetically cringed and nodded. “Cmon, hopefully this service tunnel takes us somewhere.” As of then, the tunnel was a dark corridor, with a few sharp turns.

Thankfully, they emerged into open space soon enough. A wider corridor. Not much different from what else surrounded the halls. Lined with doors, there was actually a MagiLev station not too far down the area. Windrunner lead Golden Glow towards the station, and towards the convenience store.

“Wow… we really didn’t go far.” Golden Glow smiled softly, limping along with Windy into the back room. The poor, overworked mare practically collapsed against the desk, laying down on the floor. Windrunner shut the door and sat down next to Golden Glow, who was shivering lightly.

“You alright?” Windrunner smiled, turning to face the bat pony directly. Moving close to share body warmth, she made sure that Golden Glow’s leg wasn’t causing her too much trouble as she responded.

“Yes… and I have to thank you.” Windrunner was genuinely surprised at the comment, her ears perking under her hoof. “You could have hurt me or left me to die but you spent the resources to help me. I can’t thank you enough.” The yellow mare wrapped her forelegs around Windrunner in a tight embrace, catching the pegasus off guard.

Windy didn’t say anything, a bit too surprised to. She, however, returned the hug, laying back down so they were both comfortable. She yawned again. “I think it’s good to sleep some,” she said quietly, shutting her eyes.

“Agreed.”

And the two mares slowly fell asleep, sharing each other’s body heat in the cold that surrounded them.

Clank.

Windrunner jolted awake, still close to the bat mare who was still sleeping. She looked around in surprise, trying to make out the sound.

The sound of something scraping against metal heavily made her screw her eyes shut. It was extremely close… too close for comfort.

She looked around quickly, knowing that something was moving outside. She had to act fast. Pushing away from Golden Glow and effectively waking her up, she peeked behind the desk then back at the door.

She had to make her choice fast. Would she hide Golden Glow and face whatever may come, or would she hide along with the mare and risk both of them being caught in the vulnerable position?

The thoughts circled in her head before she realized she had no time to decide. What the hell was she supposed to do?

Author's Note

Now, I know my writing is a steaming pile of shit, I know. My stories have terrible pacing, badly written stories, etc. But seriously - anything wrong with this, anything that I missed in my tired editing, please tell me. I really want to improve with writing and while time may bring such rewards, right now I wanna know what I need to do to improve from an outer view. I've been delaying posting this because let's face it - I don't like my own work and it really, REALLY needs work a lot of the time.

And also - if you want to help me improve by showing me what I do wrong in advance, and help me edit my work, I'd greatly appreciate that! Don't think you're forced to or anything. But if you are interested, you should be able to send me a message.

Onto the poll.
Will you seal Windrunner's fate, and the fate of her partners? Choose what she does here:

https://www.strawpoll.me/16151727

I need to lie down.