Near Concord

A groan escapes my lips as I lay face up on the hard ground, as my mind begins to reboot I try to open my eyes to find where I am. Only to hiss and slam them shut as the light from the sun was too much for my sensitive eyes, my hiss of pain morphing into a soft moan as I roll to my side, being careful to fold my wing under my side. As I finish rotating to my side I let my head settle on the dusty ground, making the dust come up and into my nose forcing me to cough. Coughing to try and clear my airways I sit up and find that my eyes opened in my panic to be able to breath once more. The sight that meets my eyes is.....perplexing to say the least. I seem to be in the remains of a forest, but one that was burned away, looking to the charred tree near me to the right. I could see the pattern of bark in the charring meaning that whatever burned this tree was extremely hot. Looking to my left I spot something that looks a bit familiar, it was something I had seen in the Mirror world. It was a car of some kind, painting bright red though the rubber tires were missing as well as spots of rust beginning to overtake the paint showing that it had been there for a while.

But just as the red car eased my growing panic I looked down to my forehooves confused, and for that panic to return with force, as I was still a pony. Standing up quickly I began to pace in a small line before turning back and pacing the other way, as I tried to make sense of things. My mind was working in over drive working to fight the growing sense of panic welling within me.

"What the fuck was that?!" I stop dead at hearing that sentence coming from close by. The speaker obviously male and one who seemingly needed a drink. "Was that a plasma grenade?" the being continued as I heard the crunching of the dry earth heading my direction.

"Nah, was plaz, that shit ain't purple" Another male responded. Now my eyes were franticly searching the area for a place to hide. Just then a very dirty human came around the end of a trailer on the road near the car I had spotted. It or rather he seemed to be wearing make shift armor made from salvaged metal. As his eyes met mine I saw a madness within his brown eyes that screamed at me to run.

"What the fuck is that!?" It asked as it raised something in his hands in my direction. Just as another two dingy human's rounded the end of the trailer to stop dead at the sight of me. Looking in the direction that would get me as far away from these men as possible I spotted a small town. With a glimmer of hope at safety I began to gallop towards the town before taking to the air with a few strong beats from my wings. As I hurry to leave those three behind I over hear.

"Well whatever the fuck it is, the boss in Concord will get'em" Followed by a few laughs.

Soon I was out of earshot of the three humans and was quickly getting closer to the town. But with each wing beat bringing me closer and closer it allowed me to see that the town was heavily damaged with most of the buildings having become unaccesible. Some even having crumbled into ruins, as I got even closer I noticed more humans rushing about pointing up in my direction as I was lowering my altitude to land on the main path. When I heard a loud crack and felt a sharp pain in my wing, letting out a scream as I lost my ability to fly as I angled to land on the top of the closest building rather than the street.

Letting out another cry as I crash land on top of the three story building ending with me rolling a bit before I was able to sit up and take inventory of the damage to my wing. There was a clear hole in my wing that was bleeding very bad. "Where'd it go?"

"It's up on the roof! Get your lazy asses up there and get the damn thing!" I could hear someone command and as I stood and looked for a way off the roof before they made it up to me I noticed that the stairway was collapsed and blocked off leaving me stuck on the roof. But also stopped the humans from getting to me. I nearly jump out of my fur as the building across the street's roof door slams open and nearly a dozen humans rush onto the other buildings roof. Within moments most of the humans had raised those devices in their hands in my direction. Figuring that those were similar to mini crossbows I fired up my magic and grabbed as many of them from their hands as I could before they fired at me.

Quickly pulling them across the gap to me, I nearly drop them as one of the one's that I had missed fires and I feel something pierce my shoulder making me scream once more. Gritting my teeth I dive for cover from their fire as I turned my captured weapons and after a quick look. I figured which way to point them and how to make them shoot and soon I was firing back while staying in my cover. I heard a few cries of pain from the humans but I didn't have time to think on it as I looked around my cover to see the situation.

"Com'on throw a cocktail!" I heard one of them order the others, which had soon pulled out a large bottle with a rag stuffed into the top and lit the rag. Not sure what it was but knowing I didn't want it anywhere near me as the man threw it over shoulder towards me. I caught it in my magic, causing the rest to stop shooting to stare at the floating bottle before I reversed its direction and it was sailing back towards the humans.

The group of humans let out cries of shock and dived out of the way, or most did but the thrower of the device was unlucky to be too close to the spot where it landed as the glass broke and a wave of flames expanded out from the broken bottle. Covering the man in the flammable fluid as it burned. He quickly dropped and was screaming to have his allies help him before another crack and his screaming stopped.

I could only stare in horror as to what had just happened, but before I could comprehend what I had just done I spotted another bottle being lit, I grab the bottle with my magic before the thrower could throw it. I squeezed a bit too hard as the fragile glass shattered and once more a wave of flames engulfed the thrower as well as a few humans that were around her. As more screams rose from the other roof I yelped as something hit near my face, covering my face in old plaster making me dodge back into cover. Though that didn't stop the cries of pain from reaching my ears or the following shots that ended their pain.

I couldn't process what I had just done, not once but twice did my actions end with the death of someone else. Even though it was obvious they were trying to kill me I couldn't help but feel bad about their demise. But as I thought on it, I realized that if I was ever to see anyone I love again it would have to be either them or me. So biting my lip I prepare to look around the corner and try and stop the rest from killing me.

But as I am about to look around the corner I stop still, as I hear a growing clatter coming up the far side of the building I was on. Looking to the far edge I could only watch in horror as a human in a full suit of makeshift armor finished climbing over the edge of the building said, "There you are!"

With my new found resolve I took the remaining weapons in my magic and aimed them at the man and pulled the trigger. But I could only feel my look of determination fall to despair as the projectiles from the weapons didn't seem to even faze the human. "Haha, you little cunt! Think those little things are going to get through my power armor?" I gulp as I hear the guns in my magic click empty. As the armored man pulled out a weapon that was both larger and in better condition then the ones I had stolen. He said "My turn." and I could hear the grin as the weapon in his hands fired.

Author's Note

Another chapter for you my dear readers! though I am sorry to say I ran out of time for finishing this chapter. I was able to make it to a point that made sense to stop at though. So forgive me for the cliff hanger as I will get the next part of this chapter out soon.

~Chief