Problems of a Dead World

Chapter 9: Acquire Hardware

Macintosh and Shining were rummaging through a crate full of firearms, debating which ones might do more damage and testing the weight of each weapon. Despite the fact that neither had any previous knowledge of the weapons they were holding. As the two continued searching through the box, Applejack began scanning the shelves, looking for something suitable. Earl had told the three to look for a weapon that suited their physical capabilities, causing Applejack to search through various racks of pistols lined across the walls on an opposite isle. A shimmer from the metal on one of the firearms caught her eye, and directed her attention to a shining revolver hanging just above a few smaller guns. Something about this weapon was calling to her. The sleek, shining metallic finish, the shape, the wooden handle. Applejack approached the shelf and took the revolver in her hand, grasping it tightly. She had definitely found her weapon.

On the opposite side of the isle, Earl stood beside Twilight, both of them scanning the shelves. The purple-haired human was nervous around all of the weapons. The previous knowledge of Earl's firearms from five years ago still rolled around her mind. The ghastly, ear shattering sounds each weapon produced, the deadly result of firing upon someone. The thought of her actually using one of these deadly tools sent of shiver down the former-unicorn's spine.

"So... which one do you think I should choose?" She asked, hiding her apparent nervousness.

Earl rested his hand under his chin for a moment, still eying the rack.

"Something relatively small..." He replied, reaching for a pistol that was hanging just inside of his reach.

The small firearm was painted a matte black, carrying a stark look of death as the human examined it. He held the gun firmly in both hands and aimed it away from Twilight, looking down the sights. With a nod, he turned back to Twilight and took the barrel in his opposite hand, presenting the handle of the weapon to her. She halfheartedly reached her hand towards the tool of death, but Earl pulled it away, a frown washing across his face.

"Did I mention how sorry I am?" He asked.

Twilight shook her head and looked to the floor. With a sigh, Earl placed his hand under her chin and pulled her head gently upwards.

"Words cannot even express how much I regret taking you here... I-I'm sorry." He said, his voice faltering slightly.

"There was no way you could've known..." Twilight replied softly.

"I know... but, still. I should've just given up on this place..."

"It's not easy to give up on your home. You've spent most of your life here..." Twilight replied, confidence growing in her voice slightly.

Earl simply nodded and shifted his eyes to the floor. Twilight sighed and took the pistol from his hand, and placed it gently on the table. The purple-haired girl slowly moved closer to him, and rested her head against his chest, the blood on his shirt now dried. Tears began inching their way into Earl's eyes as he felt Twilight's hair brush against the underside of his chin. He hesitantly placed his hand on the back of her neck and pulled her closer, embracing her as the tears rolled down his cheeks.

"I still love you... even if we make it out of here or not-" Twilight said softly.

"You're making it out of here, that is a promise. Whether I'm with you or not, you're going home." He said, cutting off the rest of her sentence.

Twilight winced slightly and pressed her head harder into Earl's chest, gently wrapping her arms around him.

"Please... don't talk like that..." She said softly.

Earl nodded and stroked the back of her hair as light as his shivering hands would let him. After a few minutes however, Applejack approached the two, spinning the chamber of her revolver back and forth, not noticing the two in each others embrace.

"Earl, ah think I found-" She said, looking up.

She quickly noticed the two and took a step back.

"Ah uhh... hope I'm not interrupting anything."

Earl glanced up and saw Applejack standing a few feet away, an awkward expression showing on her face. He ran his hand across Twilight's back once more before taking a step away from her.

"No, you're fine." He said, his voice faltering as he wiped his tears away.

Applejack nodded and raised the pistol to Earl.

"Ah think I found the one ah want." Applejack said, unknowingly aiming the barrel of the revolver to him.

Earl froze in place and threw his hands in the air, his heart racing.

"AJ..." He said worriedly.

"Yes?" She replied, raising an eyebrow.

Earl pointed one of his hands towards the pistol. Applejack held a puzzled expression for a moment before aiming the gun to the floor.

"Ohh... sorry." She replied.

With a sigh of relief, Earl turned back to the shelf behind him and Twilight. He grabbed the small black pistol and handed it to Twilight, his other hand caressing her shoulder, trying to calm her. The purple-haired girl gave a forced smile as he turned back to Applejack.

"It's fine. Where are the guys?" He asked.

Within a mater of seconds, Macintosh and Shining Armor came out from one of the other isles spread across the room. Macintosh holding a large M4 rifle in his hands, similar to the ones held by most of the guards in the base. Shining was holding the Uzi Earl had wielded earlier.

"We're ready." Macintosh said, Shining confirming as well with a nod.

* * *

After Earl had made sure they were equipped with an extensive amount of ammunition, he led the group to the isle across from the large metal door keeping them inside. First, he walked in front of Shining and motioned to the gun in his hands.

"Check the side, make sure the safety reads 'off'." He said.

Shining tilted the weapon to the side and examined it for a moment before flipping a small switch on the side and giving a nod.

"Alright, make sure it's cocked." Earl said, mentally going over his list of steps to preparing a weapon.

The blue-haired human grasped the slide in his hand just as Earl had done before and pulled it back until the weapon clicked. Yet again, Shining nodded and glanced towards Earl.

"Let me see it." Earl said extending his arm.

Shining handed the weapon to the black-haired human, who quickly turned to the side and stuffed the weapon into his shoulder, keeping his finger free of the trigger.

"It's going to jump back, a lot. Keep your shoulder as steady as you can." He said.

Earl took in a long breath and paused.

"Breath in when you fire."

He exhaled.

"And out when you're finished. Fire in bursts, and don't shoot your teammates."

They rage-quit... Earl thought.

Shining nodded and Earl handed the Uzi back to Shining, who propped it into his shoulder.

Earl nodded as well and continued down the line, where Macintosh was waiting.

"You're gun should be similar. Safety, slide, shoulder. Remember that." He said.

Macintosh gave a nod and looked to the side of the weapon. As expected by Earl, he flicked a small switch, signalling that the gun was off of safety. Next, Macintosh looked for a slide on top of the rifle.

"Check the side." Earl said, pointing to the weapon.

Sure enough, a small slide was waiting on the side of the weapon. Macintosh wrapped his fingers around it and glanced up to Earl for confirmation. As soon as the black-haired human nodded, Macintosh slid the small protruding metal slide backwards, causing two clicks to echo throughout the room. Mac propped the gun into his shoulder and waited for Earl's next command.

"Now. If you pull the trigger, and you hear a click, it means your clip is gone. There should be a button on the side of your weapon that will expel the clip and let you put a new one in. Make sure you pull the slide back and cock it each time you reload, or it won't fire." Earl said, relying on his previous video-Game knowledge.

At that moment, Shining found the small button on the side of his Uzi and pressed his thumb against it, causing the clip to fall from the bottom of his Uzi and litter the floor with shining metallic bullets. Earl let out a sigh as Shining scrambled around, retrieving the clip and the various bullets scattered across the ground.

"Kind of like that." Earl said, nodding his head in the direction of Shining.

As the blue-haired human continued recollecting his ammunition, Earl moved down the line, where Twilight was waiting. She was awkwardly trying to prop the small firearm into her shoulder.

"No, not like that." He said, walking behind her.

He gently took her arms from behind and placed them in front of her. One hand holding the gun outward, and the other placed under the handle for extra support. She shivered slightly at his touch, but gave no resistance as he showed her the correct position.

"Hold both arms steady. You don't want this thing to come back and hit you." He said quietly, a few inches from her ear.

As Twilight readied both arms and held them firmly in position, Earl looked to Applejack, who was next down the line.

"Give it a shot, AJ." He said. "Well not... like... really shoot it... but-"

"Ah've got it." She said, taking the same stance Twilight had entered.

Earl gave a nod and backed away from the purple-haired human. He examined everyone's stance for a moment, making sure each of them had the right posture and hand-position. Satisfied with the result, he took a few more steps back.

"These weapons will jump back at you if you're not holding them tight enough. Remember what I said; Inhale, exhale."

"What are we supposed to be shooting at?" Macintosh asked, his weapon ready.

"The door." Earl replied.

Shining let the Uzi fall from his shoulder.

"The door...?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. You guys get some practice, and it sends a message to those fuckers on the other side. Kill two birds with one stone."

"Wait, we're killin' birds, too?" Applejack asked, letting her weapon fall to her side as well.

Earl facepalmed.

"No... it's an... expre- Just shoot the door!" Earl replied.

Applejack shrugged and readied her weapon once more. Within seconds, each of the recently-humanized ponies unleashed a lengthy barrage of shots at the metallic door. Hitting it, and other various points on the nearby wall. Practically painting the steel and walls with various bullet holes of different sizes. Earl gave yet another nod as he examined their reactions to the weapons in their hands. Most of them understood the massive amount of power, leading to a small number of mishaps. The black-haired human turned around and approached another isle of the armory, this isle lined with various shotguns.

"Time for my hardware..." He said quietly to himself as the sound of gunfire roared throughout the room.