Problems of a Dead World

Part 2

Chapter 7: Hit the Lights

"I-Is everypony OK?" Applejack asked as the room fell into complete silence.

The blonde haired human glanced around the pitch-black room wildly, trying to spot any sign of her friends. She felt an arm briskly reach out for her shoulder and screamed unexpectedly on contact.

"Who's there?!" She asked, terrified.

"It's me. Calm down, sis'." Macintosh said, his voice echoing throughout the dark room.

Applejack calmed slightly and darted her eyes around the room nervously, an embarrassed blush on her cheeks.

"Ah... uhh... Ah don't need ta calm down... Ah'm fine." She said, trying to keep her strong willed demeanor.

Nearby, Earl shuffled around in the darkness, trying to find a wall or some sort of support to keep him on his feet as he wandered around. Seconds later, he stumbled into a metal shelf and screamed in pain as the metal dug into his already stinging face wounds.

"Son of a BITCH!" He shouted angrily, immediately clapping a hand over his face to try and numb the pain.

"Earl?" Twilight called out, her voice faltering only in the slightest.

"Twilly?" Shining called in return.

Earl sighed and moved away from the metal bar, still shrouded completely in darkness.

"Goddammit... Mac?" Earl said.

"Over here." Mac said, waving his arm in the air despite the fact that it couldn't be seen.

"Shines?"

"Earl?" Shining replied.

Earl sighed yet again.

"Twilight?" He continued.

"Yes?" She called back.

"AJ?"

"Present."

"Good, we're all here... just can't see shit." Earl said, annoyed by the blanket of darkness enveloping the room.

"Are there any candles or anything?" Shining asked.

"I... I don't know. Check for a light-switch." Earl replied, following the spot where Shining's voice came from.

"A light-switch?" AJ asked, raising an eyebrow.

Earl sighed yet again.

"Fuck it. I'll find one." He replied.

The black-haired human glanced around in the darkness for a second before spotting a panel close to the door that was flashing green. Curiously he inched over to the barely noticeable light and crouched down to get a better look. It took a second for his eyes to adjust, but after a moment he could make out the word "Secured" just under the constantly flashing green light.

Secured? He thought.

He knew they were safe for the moment if this panel was telling the truth and simply shrugged, feeling the walls around the panel for a light switch.

"Find anything?" Shining asked, sticking his arms out and feeling through the darkness.

"Nothing." Earl said with an exhausted sigh as he continued feeling the walls.

The seething pain in his face and midsection stayed constant as he continued searching, and caused him to stifle multiple pained groans as he continued. Seconds later, the groans turned to a sigh of relief as he found a large switch, roughly two feet above the panel. He placed his hand at the bottom of it and pulled the slider up, showering the room in a bright light.

"Gah!" Twilight screamed, shielding her eyes from the massive blast of light that killed the dreary darkness on contact.

The others did the same and let out their own pained groans as the light burned their eyes.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK." Earl shouted, covering his eyes and falling to his knees.

As his eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, the battered human inched them open to a squint and saw his four friends doing the same. With a relieved sigh, he fell back from his knees and let out a pained chuckle.

"Well... we're alive." He said hesitantly.

"E-Eyup..." Mac said, his voice faltering slightly as well.

"Earl." Shining said, his voice emotionless.

The human in question shuffled on the ground for a moment and cleared his throat.

"Yeah, Shines?" He replied.

"You... might want to take a look at this."

The pained human groaned for a moment before heaving himself up into a sitting position. He quickly saw Twilight, Applejack, and Shining staring into the other side of the room.

"What are you guys... Holy... fuck buckets..." Earl said, awestruck by the sight before him.

There, lining the walls and littering the shelves throughout the room, was a massive amount of firearms. Ranging from small pistols to over-sized rifles, and everything in between.

"These are the... the things they were using..." Shining said, eying the massive amount of weapons before him.

"Y-Yeah... they are." Earl said, his heart racing.

They're sure as hell gonna want to get back in here... He thought worriedly, slowly scanning the racks upon racks of guns, just waiting for them.

A thought quickly flashed in his mind. Going Rambo and taking out the whole base surely would satisfy his thirst for blood from their oppressors, but it would be risky at best. None of the recently-transformed humans even knew what a gun was, let alone know how to work it. The thoughts of their next moved swirled in Earl's mind like a raging hurricane of different possibilities. Earl turned around and blinked in disbelief.

"Mac." He said, his voice dry.

Macintosh, who was lying on his back, glanced up at Earl and raised an eyebrow before noticing the massive amount of weapons surrounding him.

"Aint' these the-?" He asked.

"Yeah." Earl replied, going back to scanning the guns worriedly.

"What do you reckon we do next?" Mac asked.

"I.... I honestly have no idea." Earl said weakly.

* * *

On the outside of the door, the soldier who fired upon them was waiting worriedly. His arms were shaking in fear as he glanced quickly to the right and noticed Jackson, followed by a dozen soldiers, stomping down the hallway. The guard's fear only intensified as the sound of boots against the floor echoed throughout the long narrow hallway. He was as good as dead.

Jackson's facial expression was as sour as humanly possible, and his body-language showcased his anger quite accurately as well. As he neared the soldier, he drew his pistol and placed it right against the soldier's head, and began backing him into a wall across the corridor. The guard instantly whimpered in fear and backed away, dropping his rifle and throwing his hands in the air.

"Private, please tell me again where our guests manage to get themselves in to." The Colonel said, anger shining in his voice as well.

"Oh god, please no, sir, please!" The soldier cried in response.

Jackson scowled and pressed the pistol harder against the whimpering guard's skull.

"English. Motherfucker. Speak it. Now." Jackson said in a stern, venomous tone.

"T-The armory." The soldier replied shakily.

Jackson arched his forearm upwards, aiming the gun at the ceiling, and laughed as he turned back to the dozen guards behind him.

"You hear that boys? Fuck-o McGee over here let those sorry sunsa' bitches get your guns." The Colonel said, taking a few steps away from the cowering soldier.

The soldiers shuffled slightly and tightened the grip on their weapons.

"Does that make you mad?" Jackson said in a feigned caring tone.

"Yes sir!" The soldiers responded in sync.

"Does that make you angry?"

"Yes sir!"

The guard against the walls' mouth slowly fall open as the dozen soldiers readied their firearms.

"Does that make you want to hurt something?!

"No! PLEASE!" The soldier pleaded, terrified.

"Yes sir!"

"THEN LET HIM HAVE IT!"

Before the soldier could cry out in protest, the sound of a dozen high-powered firearms ripped through the halls as everything was enveloped in a massive flash. Almost instantly, the soldier's body buckled as it was filled with bullets. His skin burst open on contact with the lead, spilling a massive amount of blood onto the floor along with bone fragments and other assorted pieces. Soon after the onslaught of ammunition was over, the soldier fell to the ground, twitching weakly as his blood poured onto the floor. The guards lowered their rifles and looked to their commanding officer.

"Commendable work, gentlemen. Now," He said, growing a sinister smile. "Let's get your weapons back."