Tragic Tales of Hindhoof Fallout

“Gotta keep running.” Aloe told herself. She knew she had to keep moving. There was no higher ground to go to, but she needed to find somewhere that was safer than where she was.

The silver wasteland had water. Water had come down from the sky for the first time in forever. She was sure the Omseh cult was busy praising their so-called god. She wished she could be ignorant enough to be one of them. Maybe going it alone in this place wasn’t such a good idea.

When the water first came down, she was excited. Finally! No more killing each other for what little water there was. It had come down in massive orbs. They were each big enough to fill a lake. Aloe had the misfortune of watching a couple get crushed by the force of a falling water orb. Their mangled bodies floating in a pile of bones, blood, and loose organs. The water where they once were was now a dark red.

Her initial excitement turned sour when she tasted the water. It was undrinkable. It had a taste like sweat. It was disgusting. She wasn’t sure if any amount of boiling would make this water sustainable.

Her thoughts were cut off. A massive orb landed behind her. The sudden wave of water knocked her off her feet. It washed over her face. It stung her eyes so much. They were burning from the water. Another orb came down near her, carrying her for a short distance. As another one barreled down, Aloe barely managed to get to her feet in time. The force of impact sent her flying.

When she got up, the water was now just above her ankles. This was bad. In all her time here, water had never been this much trouble. Most of the water came from new cities that would be dropped in. She remembered when her city first entered this hellish silver wasteland.

The sky went yellow, and it came down upon their city. It looked like a hoof. The earsplitting noise of the hoof made her ears bleed a little. Anyone in a high rise building was crushed when the hoof came down. They were the lucky ones. They didn’t have to go through the initial panic of being trapped in a silver wasteland. They would never have to watch people kill each other over supplies. They would never witness raiders coming to their city. They would never have to run from Chapto.

Aloe never learned to swim in her lifetime before this place. As the water sloshed around her legs, she regretted it. She feared that she might end up drowning in this sweat water. It was not a thought she relished in the slightest.

What she needed was some kind of boat. She could see a city in the distance. It was big enough that it would be an island after all this flooding. She knew that Chapto would be there. It wasn’t worth the risk. Death by drowning was far less horrible than what he would do to her. She just needed to find something vaguely sea worthy.

The water splashed at her knees. She was running out of time. Maybe she could take a risk with Chapto. Maybe he was feeling merciful today. As she weighed the risks, growing waves could be seen in the far distance. What she needed was a miracle.

“Hey!” a voice shouted. “Over here!” Aloe, head twisted to the left. It was like a god answered her prayers. Maybe the cult of Omseh was onto something. She wondered if she should’ve taken their offer when they first came to the city.

It was a boat! It was about as apocalyptic as boats got. The sides of the boats were stitched together car doors. The bottom looked like a billboard. The sail of the boat was a mix of sheets, curtains, and shirts. There was a group of five on the boat. Three women and two men. Four of them were steering with the sail, while the fifth was guiding them. They were coming her way!

No time to think. Water was going against her thighs. It was getting harder and harder to not get knocked over. By the time she reached her rescue, the sweat water was at her waist. One of the car doors opened, and a guy with a buzz cut reached out for her. She was quickly pulled up.

Aloe simply laid there. She needed a moment to catch her breath. She was soaking from the waist down. She smelled like she ran a marathon. She could barely make out what the buzz cut was saying. She was too exhausted. Questioning their motives could happen later. She was just glad to be out of the water.

Before she could sit up, a massive wave crashed on the boat. Luckily, being down seemed to have saved her from the wave. As she stood up, the boat was empty. She ran to the starboard side of the boat. All five of her rescuers were knocked off the boat. They were quickly swept up by the tide. The five of them became dots in the distance by the time Aloe got a hold on steering the ship. She had no time to mourn. She had no choice. She had to take the boat to the city. She would have to do her best to avoid Chapto.

A shadow surrounded Aloe. She looked up. Her mouth quivered in fear. An orb was rocketing towards her. The ship wouldn’t move in time. The water was too deep at this point. She hugged the mast, and hoped.

The sweat water orb slammed with such force. Aloe’s head hit the floor of the ship so hard. Her face went through the billboard floor. A few teeth had broke and forced their way down her throat, along with a gulp of sweat water. The impact must’ve broken something, because she couldn’t move her arms or legs. The sweat water was burning her eyes fiercely. She had no breath to hold. Slowly, she could feel her lungs fill with the disgusting sweat water.

Everything slowly went to black.

***

“It’s too hooooooooooot.” Tomson moaned. There was nopony else around. He just wanted to complain.

A heatwave had come to Neightowne Heights. The yellow stallion was unhappy because his house did not handle the heat well. He heard the community pool was open. What sucked was that the area meant for ponies of his size was closed for repairs.

He was sitting on his couch. His hoofshoes were in a pile under him. He could hear a faint dripping noise. He leaned forward to see that one of his hind hoofshoes was the culprit. The sweat that dripped off his rear hooves was collecting in there.

“Gross.” he said. He wasn’t grossed out enough to get up and clean it though.