Chapter 13: Fire and Blood

Earth – The Road to Richmond

The RV hummed down the desolate highway, its reinforced exterior gleaming under the dimming sky. The sun was setting, casting an eerie orange glow over the ruined world.

Danger Dan leaned against the window, eyes scanning the horizon as Pops drove with one hand, casually munching on a Snowball with the other.

In the back, Starlight and Trixie were having a quiet conversation while Sam cleaned his rifle.

"You ever think we might actually make it to Florida in one piece?" Starlight asked.

Sam smirked. "Not with our luck."

Pops snorted. "Boy’s got a point."

Suddenly, Kenny let out a deep, warning growl.

Sam sat up. "Something’s wrong."

The Cult of the Crimson Dawn

Just outside Richmond, a group of armed figures emerged from the ruins of a collapsed church. Their robes were tattered, stained with dried blood, and their faces were painted with ritualistic markings.

In the center of their makeshift sacrificial altar was Trixie, tied up and gagged, her eyes wide with terror.

One of the cultists, a priest-like figure, raised his hands to the sky. "Brothers and sisters! The gods demand an offering!"

The others cheered, chanting in low, guttural tones.

Back at the RV, Sam, Pops, and Starlight huddled behind a burnt-out car, strategizing.

"Alright," Sam whispered. "We go in quiet, take out as many as we can before—"

But before he could finish—

BOOM!

The cult’s front door EXPLODED off its hinges, engulfed in FLAMES.

A roaring figure stepped through the fire.

Danger Dan.

And he was PISSED.

Flamethrower roaring to life, he torched the nearest cultists, his voice bellowing with unfiltered rage:

"NOBODY TAKES THE PONY OF MY EYE!"

The flames devoured everything in their path. The robed figures screamed, their bodies igniting as they fled in terror.

Dan charged forward, burning his way through the cultists with merciless fury.

One of them tried to pull a gun—Dan blasted him point-blank with fire.

Another ran—Dan grabbed him by the throat and threw him into the inferno.

Nothing could stop him.

Nothing except—

*SHHHK!*

A surviving cultist, desperate and wounded, lunged forward with a rusted ceremonial sword—driving it straight into the back of Dan’s E.O.D. suit.

Dan staggered, the blade plunging into his body, missing his vital organs but inflicting a deep, brutal wound.

Starlight screamed. "DAN!"

But even injured, even bleeding out, Dan kept going.

With a feral growl, he turned, grabbed the cultist’s head, and Slammed him face-first into a burning brazier.

The man screamed, flames consuming him.

Dan collapsed to one knee, clutching his wound.

But with sheer determination, he still picked up Trixie—carrying her in his arms as the cult’s hideout burned behind him.

Sam and Pops rushed forward, covering him as he stumbled toward the RV, blood dripping onto the pavement.

Trixie, eyes wide with shock, whispered, "You idiot... you absolute idiot."

Dan smirked weakly. "Worth it..."

Then he collapsed.

The Race Against Time

Inside the RV, Starlight used all the healing magic she could, but the wound was too deep. Dan was bleeding out fast.

Sam pressed hard against the wound, but it wasn’t stopping.

Pops gritted his teeth. "Dammit! We need a doctor!"

Then—

A voice crackled through an old radio on the dashboard.

"If anyone is out there, my name is Dr. Lomo. I have a fully operational lab near Richmond. I can provide aid, but hurry. The dead are always listening."

Pops slammed his foot on the gas. "Hang on, kid. We’re gettin’ you help."

Lady Lomo – The Scientist of the Apocalypse

The lab was built inside an abandoned underground bunker, its entrance hidden beneath the ruins of an old university.

They hauled Dan inside, where a woman in a lab coat stood waiting.

She was tall, with dark skin, short silver hair, and piercing green eyes. Her coat was splattered with chemical stains, and a pair of welding goggles sat atop her head.

Lady Lomo.

She took one look at Dan and barked, "Put him on the table, NOW."

Sam and Pops rushed to obey.

Lomo grabbed a scalpel. "He’s lost too much blood. I need to operate immediately."

Trixie, still shaken, grabbed her by the arm. "Please... just save him."

Lomo gave her a firm nod. "I will."

The surgery lasted two hours.

Everyone waited in tense silence.

Finally, Lomo stepped out, pulling off her bloodied gloves.

"He’ll live. But he needs rest. And you all? You need a drink."

Pops smirked. "Got any booze?"

Lomo grinned. "I have a full bar."

The gang laughed in relief.

Dan, still unconscious, muttered one word before passing out again:

"Trixie..."

Trixie held his bandaged hand, whispering, "You big idiot... you better wake up soon."

Meanwhile, in Equestria…

The enchanted mirror shimmered, showing everything to Twilight, Celestia, and the rest of the Mane Six.

Twilight was shaking. "He... he almost DIED."

Rainbow Dash was wide-eyed. "That dude just torched an ENTIRE cult!"

Applejack whistled. "He’s got guts, I’ll give ‘em that."

Fluttershy wiped away tears. "That poor human... he risked his life for Trixie."

Celestia narrowed her eyes. "We need to reach them. Now more than ever."

The mirror flickered, showing Dan resting in the lab—alive, but forever scarred.

And the journey?

It was far from over.

To Be Continued…

Author's Note

To those confused how trixie got kidnapped she got snatched when needing to step outside.