Gears Keep Going... Even If They have To Stop

"You've gotta be shittin' me, it's really called that?" I gave Zecora, now known as a zebra, a small glance to my side as we walked.

After breakfast, of which I greatly enjoyed and appreciated, we had a small discussion. I agreed to answer any questions that they had, if they answered mine. Pretty much we just took turns from there. She would ask a question, I'd ask one, the little ones would ask one, and so on and so fourth. Zecora asked questions about me, what I was, who I was, favorite color, my diet... Yeah, they didn't the news of me being an omnivore to well. The little ones asked questions about where I was from, what I do, what my stuff was, things like that. Little bit after that, Zecora thought it should be time to head into town. So we've been doing this back and forth since.

"Yes, it's really called that. How dense can you be to ask the same question three times?" Answered the orange 'pegasus' seated on top of my head.

"Yeah, whats so hard to believe about the name Ponyville?" Asked the white 'unicorn' on my left shoulder.

"Well, for one, where I'm from we don't usually name our towns after our species." I answered while pushing a branch out of my way with my free hand.

"What do ya name 'em then?" Asked the yellow 'earth pony' from my right shoulder.

Yeah... they used the puppy look, and said they were still tired from yesterday. It's fine, they don't weigh much.

"Usually, we name them after near by land marks, or after the people who founded them. Like Jacinto... is..." I sighed and tilted my head down a little bit.

Natalie...

I dipped my head a bit. I know it's stupid to feel like this, especially seeing as i'm alive to make my way back to her. I just can't help but feel an emptiness in my chest when I think about it. It also doesn't help that she's all I got after what happened to Rebecca.

But she's safe. And I will get back to her.

I Felt someone tapping my forehead, I looked up to see two purple eyes looking back.

"You alright in there? You stopped walking."

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Just a tad homesick is all. How much farther Zecora?" I looked over at the zebra, who was giving me a concerned look.

"It is too not far,

soon you shall see it from afar."

Hmm... It does count as a rhyme, but it's a simple one. I thought while we started walking again.

Zecora explained to me that it is a tradition for grown zebras to speak in rhymes. Although, nowadays most don't. I don't get it, but I don't have to. Not my culture.

We walked in silence for a bit, till we came to the end of the forest. The trees seemed to open up as I walked out of the forest. The sun was shining over head, birds were singing, and there was a cool breeze. I stopped a few steps outside the forest to look around. There was more green grass, rolling hills covered in it. I took a deep breath, the air smelled fresh and clean. But... there was a small smell of... burning carried with it. I furrowed my brow a bit. Why would I smell burning? They're herbivores, why would they need to burn anything?  I took another, slower, breath. Yep. Somethings on fire somewhere. I took one more, even slower breath.

Blood.

Dried out in the sun, blood.

My scowl returned. I had had a small smirk all morning, but it was time to get serious. I looked down at Zecora, she was smelling the air just like I was a second ago. She stopped and looked up at me, a little bit of fear in her eyes. I sighed through my nose and looked forward.

"Which one of you said that they lived the closest?"

"My family's farm is just down the road from here, whats that smell in the air?"

I knelt down to one knee, setting my retro down on the ground next to me.

"Alright, time to get off." Sweetie Belle and Applebloom jumped off my shoulders. I had to help Scootaloo get down. After they were all off I grabbed my retro and stood back up. I looked around cautiously, trying to pinpoint where the burning smell was coming from. I swiveled my head slowly, taking short deep breaths. I saw a bell tower in the distance, it was also the direction that the smell was the strongest. I didn't want to scare the little ones, so I kept my mouth shut about it.

"Alright, which direction Apple bloom." I said in a calm even tone, never taking my eye off the bell tower.

"It's this way, come on!" She took off left heading towards a road not too far off from where we exited the forest. The other little ones started after her.

"Hey!" Applebloom, and the rest of them stopped instantly. They all turned and looked at me with a confused look. "Stay close to me, I don't want to get lost." I flashed them a fake smile.

"Oh! Sorry." Said Applebloom while rubbing the back of her head with a hoof.

Me and Zecora shared a glance, and then we walked over to where they had stopped. Once we had caught up they walked with us down the road. Me and Zecora walked in silence, the little ones were talking nonstop about how excited everyone would be to meet me. As she said, the walk wasn't a long one. After a few minutes we had reached an apple orchard, guess that's where she got her name. After a few more minutes, a farm house came into view.

Applebloom ran ahead a ways. I was about to call out for her to stop, but she stopped, turned, and looked me in the eye.

"This is it! The Apple family farmstead!" Presented Applebloom with a sweep of her leg.

I would have maybe noticed how old the placed looked. Or how well kept it was. Or how I liked the color. But the main thing I noticed was how the front door was ripped off it's hinges and laying a few feet away. I looked at Zecora, she looked up at me. Fear and uncertainty was written all over her face. I looked back over at Applebloom. She was still holding her hoof in the air.

"Applebloom... your house..." Squeaked Sweetie Belle. "It's kinda wrecked." Finished Scootaloo.

Applebloom raised an eyebrow, then turned around to look. I couldn't see her face, but how her body started to shake, was a dead give away. Zecora rushed over and grabbed her as she was about to run. Applebloom went into hysterics, crying for Zecora to let her go. Zecora held on and whispered in her ear. The other little ones fidgeted where they were. I sighed through my nose again. It's gonna be a long day.

"All of you stay here." I was hoping that Zecora could handle things here. I may have a sister, but consoling my sister and consoling a member of a different species, is a whole other ordeal. They may act like humans in many ways, but I don't know how far the similarities go.

That, and I just don't feel like dealing with it.

I started walking towards the house. From my vantage point, I could definitely see blood on the porch. I hoped that the blood wasn't visible from where they were. Last thing I need is three hysterical kids running around attracting attention. I reached the porch in no time. I ducked down a little and stepped up on the porch. It gave a little groan in protest of my weight. I winced internally. If they're hostiles inside, they know I'm here now. I stood in silence for a second, listening for sounds of movement in the house.

Besides the blowing of the wind, I didn't hear much else.

From where I was, I could see that the blood was from something being hit, falling down, and being dragged away. The trail seemed to start in front of the door and go along the middle of the porch to the end. I stepped over to the blood and knelt down. I reached out with my free hand and ran two fingers through it. I brought my hand back up to look at it. There were a few flakes of blood on my glove. The means that the blood was at least over twelve hours old if it was so dry it didn't cling. I flipped my hand back over to look at the watch/compass combo. It was a little after noon. So whatever happened, whatever did it might be long gone by now. Also, my compass needle was spinning like crazy. And it's a digital compass! I tapped my wrist against my knee a few times and took a second look. It was still fucking spinning!

Ok... What in the fuck makes a digital compass spin like that?

I decided to chalk it up to being an equipment malfunction. I wiped my hand on the exposed part of my pants and turned my attention back to the task at hand. I wanted to go inside and see what was inside, but if the door was any indication to the size of the house, I'm not gonna fit. I decided to follow the trail and see what I find. I got up and off the porch and walked in the direction the trail went. At the end of the porch the trail kept going in the dirt. Now that it was in the dirt, I could make out tracks. All around and on top of the blood are foot prints going to and from.

Because there's so many, I can't get a definite number But from the ones that are off to the side, I can tell that these aren't Wretches. The Foot marks are to small, and the claw marks I can make out are way too big. A new type of Locust? Who knows. It's definitely not the first time Iv'e met a new Locust species, and I'm pretty damn sure it's not the last. Fuckers are diverse.

I kept following the trail for a good hundred feet, that's when I came to the trees. I stopped just outside the line of trees. That's a lot of cover. If I went in, I could very easily get ambushed. I could just walk away said I didn't find anything, not get involved. Just work on finding my way back to Jacinto. But... Fucking hell...

I gave a long sigh, and looked at the ground. I brought my retro out before my eyes. I gave it a good long look. Form the bayonet that has killed hundreds personally. The but end that has broken more jaws than I can count. The old dent on the front that deflected a snipers round from going into my heart.  The message that Rebecca scratched into the rifle just behind the front sight...

Be safe, aim straight, don't be an idiot

-Rebecca

I chuckled openly as I read. I started to think back to better times, back when... I shook myself out of my reminiscence before I depressed myself. I brought my attention back up to the trees. I pointed my retro forward from my hip, and proceeded in. After about a hundred and fifty feet or so, I looked ahead a bit to see the trail ended at a small hole in the ground. I brought my retro up to aim better, and slowed down to a creep.

I felt my heartbeat accelerate. I darted my eyes left to right, looking for movement. I took my time getting close to the hole. My head was on a swivel. My hearing peaked, trying to pick up the softest of sounds. I heard birds, the rustling of leaves, and the thudding of my boots. Nothing I was listening for. Each step took me closer. I hate being close to Grub holes... Last time I got close to one, a Theron grabbed my leg and pulled me down in. Have you ever fallen in complete darkness? It's not fun.

I finnaly reached the hole. I stepped up next to it carefully and looked down the barrel into the hole. Empty. With a small exhale, I relaxed a bit. I could now examine the hole. It was small, much smaller than normal Locust holes. It was confusing. Maybe one grub could come up at once. Locust tactics consist of overwhelming there target. This was definitely not a Locust hole. But what made it?

I was about to throw a grenade down the hole, when I noticed a set of tracks heading in a different direction then the ones I followed here. I raised an eyebrow in confusion and put away the grenade. I stepped over and knelt down next to the tracks. Looking at them, I would have to guess some kind of dog. But there were a few prints that had four meaty fingers, and what appeared to be claws at the tip of each finger.

Bipedal dogs? Never seen a mammal like Locust before. Maybe it's not a Locust? Different hollow faction perhaps? Damn, it. why does shit have to get more and more complicated all the time...

It was then that I noticed the direction in which the tracks went. My eyes widened, and my heart started beating faster.

Shit! they're headed for the path we took to get here! Fuck! They could of been watching us! The girls! I need to...

As if on cue, I heard the girls start screaming. I cursed under my breath. I stood up and took off. Good thing is, the path they took was inbetween the rows of trees. Made it so I could run at full tilt. I heard the girls scream again, but it was closer. I wasn't very far off to begin with. After a minute of running, I reached the path we came in on. I made a hard left, stumbling a bit, a raced towards where they should be.

I could see form a distance where I left them, they weren't there.

"SHIT!" My head was swinging back and fourth savagely. "YELL OUT SO I CAN FIND YOU!"

No response.

I looked down to check for tracks, but the ground was disturbed too much to pick anything out. I looked back up and checked around franticly for any sign of them. I spotted a three thick scratches on a near by tree, and a broken spear on the ground. I then heard another bout of screams coming from beyond the trees.

In the direction of the hole.

Cursing my self internally, I ran back in that direction. I didn't want to risk taking the time to go back to the clear path, I just ran through the trees. Branches tore at my skin as I raced by. I saw something move in the distance. Focusing, I could make out a brown something wearing armor on the top half of it's body. It was running much faster than I was. It disappeared into the distance shortly after I saw it. I gritted my teeth and picked up the pace.

I reached the hole in time to see a... I don't know what the hell it was. What I noticed first was it lowering a limp Zecora down the hole into outstretched claws. It turned on me, fully dropping Zecora down the hole, and growled at me with pointed yellow teeth. It pulled a spear from behind it's back, and started to charge at me while I was running. Reacting fast, I put three rounds into it's chest. The rounds hit it with enough force to send it backwards. I shifted my focus on the hole. Another armored dog-thing had popped it's head up. It looked at the now cooling corpse, then to me, charging straight at it. I  aimed at it and pulled the trigger. It ducked down to avoid the bullets. I reached the hole and prepared to jump down... Just to get a face full of dirt.

I sputtered and back peddled. I brought a hand up to get the dirt out of my eyes and nose. After a few seconds, I got enough out to see. I blew out the dirt up my nose. I quickly looked over at the hole. It now had a three foot tall pile of dirt on top of it. I was about to get mad about it, when the ground started to shake. Soon, all around me, those dog-things emerged from more holes all around me. They had spears, axes, and some crude swords. They all howled and started coming at me. They all had there weapons pointed at me, ready to cut me to pieces. They all moved so fast. Circling around me, there had to be at least thirty of them.

I fired my retro in a sweeping patter around me. I wasn't really aiming, didn't have to. They were so grouped together, all I had to do was spray. The ones out front were thrown back, and to my surprise, the rounds were tearing through and going into the ones behind. What was left of my clip ran out fast, but I got at least a dozen of the bastards. I heard a howl behind me. Thinking fast, I swiped my retro around. There were three of the dogs in the air about to stab me. The bayonet connected with one and sent him into the other two. By the sound of it, I broke a lot of bones with that one.

I quickly reloaded. I let out a bout of laughter when I heard the round chamber perfectly. I saw something coming towards me out of my peripheral. I moved out of the way just in time to dodge a spear. I quickly brought my retro up to bear. The dog-things were cautious now. They easily had me outnumbered, but they were keeping their distance, and cover. Most likely out of fear. Seeing as I just killed a lot of them in no time. Suddenly, they all froze. Then, just as soon as they emerged, they all ran for the holes they came out of. It was a flurry of movement, and just as soon as it started, it was over.

I spun around a few times, trying to find a target. I finnaly realized how hard I was breathing. My heart was going at a hundred miles a minute. I evened out my breathing to calm my self down. A sound from my left, made me spin around. It was the dogs I had hit with the retro. They had landed in a heap against a tree. The one I hit was definitely dead. The one in the middle appeared to be trying to stand. The other one, was trying to limp away. He didn't get far. A burst from my retro ripped him apart.

. Now that I wasn't being attacked, I could get a good look at it. They were definitely bipedal dogs, by the looks. Their hind legs were like regular dog legs, the front limbs were big and meaty. The fingers ended with big jagged claws. By Locust standards, they were maybe as good as a strong Wretch. I put a few rounds through it, and started to think about what to do now.

I couldn't hang around here. My best bet was to head for the town. To be honest, that was the only thing I could think of. Not wanting to hang around and give them the chance to ambush me again, I bolted back towards the path. I took the clear path I had taken before back. Once I reached the path, I took it back the way we took to get here. About half way out of the orchard, the ground started to shake so bad I started to lose my footing. I stopped running, expecting to be attacked again. Instead, I heard a loud crashing noise behind me. I turned to look, to see the trees rising up and falling down behind me.

Those bastards were turning the orchard into a sink hole.

"Oh fuck me..."

I turned and ran as fast as I could. It wasn't long before I was out of the orchard, but turning my head to the side showed that the ground was still falling down behind me. I had to put my retro on my back to get full use of my arms while running. I started to feel the ground fall from under my feet, it was catching up.

"Shitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshit."

I picked up the pace as best as I could. Up in front of me was a hill. I threw all my determination into making it to that hill, hoping that it hold together. I reached the hill. About half way up I stumbled and fell, landing on my side. I felt my heart lurch up into my throat. I quickly covered my head with my arms and tucked my legs up into my chest, expecting to fall at any second. But, for some odd reason, I wasn't. I still felt the rumble. Slowly, I brought my arms away from my face. I rolled over to a sitting position, and my jaw dropped so hard I thought it was going to fall off.

The entire orchard was now a gaping hole in the ground. The hole itself must have been a couple miles wide.  I stood up slowly, unsure of the integrity of the ground I was on. I pulled out my gorgon, and slowly, ever so slowly, walked over to the edge. I could make out trees standing among the rubble off in the distance. I took one small step forward, and a big piece of my sanctuary fell off. I stumbled backwards, and fell on my ass. A small bit of pain raced up my spine. I grumbled a bit in response.

Instead of standing back up, I rolled onto my stomach and crawled over to get a better look. I got to the edge and looked down. This time, there was movement. I couldn't see what it was from this distance, it was a good half mile drop. I switched out to my longshot to get a better look. From the standard zoom, I could see that it was those dog-things again.

But, from tunnels dotting the side of the hole, ponies were walking out. I felt something churn in my gut. I kept looking out among the dogs and ponies, till I came across a familiar trio. I clicked the zoom button to full. The three were struggling against the hold of one of the dogs. The difference on this one being, he was wearing some sort of vest, and a collar. I brought the cross hairs up to his head, and was getting ready to take the shot, when he set the three little ones down. I furrowed my brow in confusion. I moved the cross hairs to follow the little ones. The were running with tears in their eyes. They soon tackled a purple unicorn.

She fell backwards from the force of their tackle hug. I couldn't make out what they were saying. All of a sudden Applebloom straightened up. She looked over in one direction and smiled. I moved the cross hairs over a bit and spotted an orange earth pony. She was wearing a hat. A fucking hat. I had to take my head away from the scope and shake it a few times. But sure enough, when I looked back, she was wearing a fucking hat. Anyway, Applebloom tackled hugged the orange one, who looked like she had been crying a lot recently.

Then a white unicorn, who's mascara was running, ran over and tackled Sweetie Belle. I saw Scootaloo looking around for someone as well, but looked scarred when she wasn't seeing who she was looking for. Then the purple one stepped over and said something to her. She perked up a bit, then the purple one walked her away. I would have watched to see what else was going to happen. But, the loud barking alerted me that I had been spotted.

"Time to go."

I crawled backwards, and stood up. I put my longshot back on my back and pulled my retro out as I turned. I headed up the hill slowly, as not to fall and die. When I got to the top of the hill... I could see the town in the distance.

I could also see the brumak from here as well.

"Well today just got shitty."