Mask

Cold.

That is the first thing Spike felt when he walked into the room. He looked around, his already hot breath turning into steam in the air, looking around, his pupils scanning the area. Had he been a normal Human, much like the ones he surrounded himself with, he would have been totally blind in the pitch black room.

Luckily, he was anything but normal.

He let out another hot breath as he walked, his eyes scanning the room, pupils constricting into slits as he walked along, scanning the desks and computers. It seems he was in some sort of underground bunker, made to study something, though it was too dark to make out any text or the folders on the desks and ground.

He ran his fingers through the dusty tables, giving a grimace. Twilight would have a heart attack if she saw this place, but Spike himself cared little for that now. He continued on, scanning the walls for a light source, before finally brushing his hand against a button on the wall. He pressed it, the lights flickering for a moment, before turning on, the sounds of a soft hum filling the room.

His slitted pupils rounded instantly, shielding his eyes from the lights. He jumped as he heard a scraping sound and turned, grabbing a chair and whipping it about. No attack came though, his eyes scanning the darkness, staring at every corner and desk. He slowly lowered the chair and scanned the walls, humming when he saw a hole in the side, cobwebs sprouting out near it.

It must have been a spider.

He walked away, humming softly, not noticing a Mutts hand as he passed the hole, before it was slowly dragged in, clicking a chittering echoing in the empty room. Spike walked up the stairs into the second floor, his breath still coming out as steam, passing more and more cobwebs. He stopped as they blocked the way, sighing softly, licking his tongue loudly.

He really hoped nothing in the room was flammable.

He breathed some fire onto his thumb, before tracing it along the cobwebs, setting them ablaze, the emerald flames making quick work of them. He sat there for a moment, before hearing more skittering behind him, turning his head. He saw nothing, though noted more holes in the wall cobwebs sprouting out of them.

Just how big were these spiders?

He turned back to see a body, holding some sort of weapon and flashlight. The flashlight itself was smashed, and the weapon had old blood on it. The body was not yet skeletal, but had been dead for awhile, judging by the smell. Spikes nose crinkled, then inspected the body seeing the weapon; a blade, it looked like a machete of some sort, covered in blue blood and...ash?

Spike heard the skitter again, looking back and seeing a leg pull back into the hole. From the quick look he saw, it was skeletal white, and big. He looked back down at the machete, seeing the body. It was covered in bite marks, clawing, and what appeared to be some sort of stab wound.

The same as the skeleton downstairs.

His eyes narrowed, before looking at the holes on the walls. He didn't know how, but these were connected, and he wasn't willing to be lunch. He grasped the machete, tearing the poor mans arm off in the process. He gave a disgusted look, before using the tips of his fingers to open the mans fingers. He flung the hand off, shivering as he wiped his hands off on his pants.

He gave the machete an experimental swing, then twirled it around. It seemed his lessons with Shining did not go to waste. He stared at the body, then bowed his head in respect, before walking up the stairs.

Had he stayed another moment, he would have seen several lights burn out and pop, something stirring in the darkness as it watched him. It skittered away, giving a hiss, the cobwebs around the hole shifting for a moment as it scrambled back inside. It was patient, it could wait.

Silver Spear walked over to the outer gate, adjusting his mask and putting it on. He adjusted the filter, making sure his clothes were over his armor, and checked his bracer, seeing a flashing red number peer at him. He nodded to himself, slinging his crossbow over his back and adjusting the bandages to be more comfortable.

He looked back, seeing the others getting ready, checking their gear, much like him. He pulled the knife out, inspecting the blade for a moment, twirling it to and fro in his hands, before sliding it into a sheath and nodding to himself. Eventually, he cleared his throat, interrupting everyone, saying, "Listen up, boys and girls, cuz I am going to say this once."

Storm Chaser chuckled and elbowed Big Mac, who gave her a soft look, in the middle of checking his mask out for any scratches or imperfections, before she said, "This is my favorite part."

"When we go through those doors, we will think of one thing, and one thing only; survival." Silver Spear spoke, walking towards the buttons on the side. "We need to think about survival of The Cavern, survival of those women, men and children. If you are in danger, you must protect yourself and leave everything. If you are attacked, you are to try and escape or find a place to hunker down. If you have no options of escape, then fight like a cornered animal until we can save you. I don't want to bring anyone else bad news today, so let's try to all make it back alive."

He pressed a button, the door giving loud clicks as it adjusted, before giving a loud whine of protest as it opened. The group adjusted, masks on already and packs ready, readying themselves and bracing themselves.

A gust of cold wind battered against the door, snow spilling into the cave. Silver shivered as some of the cold wind bit at his exposed ears, before adjusting a bit and walking outside. Big Mac gave a look back, seeing Bulk adjust uncomfortably a bit.

"Never been a fan of tha snow?"

"Never been a fan of seeing destroyed towns." Bulk said, uncharacteristically quiet, before stepping out with the others.

Big Mac stood for a moment, hearing the wind howling outside, then looked back towards the darkness of the tunnel. He hummed softly, hand drifting down to a pocket and pulling out a picture. In the picture was Applebloom, Applejack, and Big Macintosh himself, hugging and laughing at something off the shot. He sighed softly, before putting the picture back.

"I'll find ya, sis."

Big Mac walked out, only be be battered with cold air, shivering as the cold seeped its icy claws into his bones. He walked out, snow melting onto his mask, making him wipe the water off with his gloved hands, slowly walking towards the others. Big Macintosh gasped as he stared at Ponyville...or, what was left of it, anyway.

"This explains why they never sent a rescue party." Silver Spear said, his voice muffled by his mask. He adjusted his gear, then looked back, speaking, "Group One, you know your mission. Group Two, with me."

They stood still for a moment, taking in the destruction, Silver walking on. The main gate showed Ponyville in big, striking letters, however, icicles and snow had made the sign lean over to the side. Streets were blasted with snow, and half of the buildings were smashed in, though all were damaged.

A violent storm drifted ahead, swirling around endlessly, humming with magic and radiation. Snow billowed out, trees once filled with life swayed in the wind, branches dead and barren, giving ominous shadows and clacking noisily. Judging by the sun, blocked by the clouds, it was late in the morning during summer, and yet the blizzard they were in blew as if it were winter in the Crystal Empire.

"Oh Celestia..." Thunderlane mumbled out, walking forward, his wings tucking up behind him. "No wonder there were no rescue parties. Look at this place."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Storm said, pulling her wings back into her own body. "This wind would snap my wings if I tried getting higher. Not to mention how cold it is, you'd develop icicles and frost on your body."

"Alright everyone, split up. We'll gather supplies, find a place to clean our filters, and head back here in forty-five minutes. Don't be late." Silver ordered, using his hand to signal them to move forward. Big Macintosh and Storm Chaser joined him, Thunderlane, Meteor and Bulk heading off in another direction.

On top of the castle, a creature stirred. It opened its eyes, staring into the white abyss it called home, and moved. At its feet lie the bones of its meals, it pushing the skull of a buck away, one of its antlers broken off from the beasts feeding. It licked it chops as it stared out, watching shapes in the snow far below. It gave a curious sound ad it watched, before its stomach made a noise.

It shook its body, before slowly clambering out of its nest, stretching its heavily muscled wings out. It took off, eyeing the two groups, before picking a target and gliding in the wind.

It will hunt again.

Spike gave a grunt of exertion as he pushed the door. He could easily rip the door off its hinges, but something told him that he needed the door there, so he pushed against the wind battering against it. He pushed the door open, giving a grunt as snow spilled inside of the room, along with light. He sighed in relief and slowly walked out into the snow, looking around, trying to spot anything.

Seeing no animals or people around, he stepped out into the snow, adjusting the machete on his hip and walking into the biting wind, peering through the snow. He looked around, seeing smashed windows and caved in buildings, giving a soft sigh as he saw Quills and Sofas.

He adjusted the mask and slid it over his face, the steam from his breath being hidden in the mask. He kept walking, seeing the smashed windows of shops he once visited, his heart sinking as he saw Sugarcube Corner. He rested his hand on its front door, giving it a soft, sad look, his mind filling with laughter from that bubbly woman.

"Oh Pinkie...I hope you're okay." He mumbled out, tracing his hand along the window, brushing away some of the ash and snow. He saw a black shape in its reflection, freezing for a moment, then twirled around, grasping the hilt of his machete.

He scanned the rooftops, trying to spot the shape. He snorted out some smoke, then continued walking, casting one last sad look to the shop, before continuing on. His tail whipped to and fro as he kept walking. He pulled his mask down and huffed out some smoke, before breathing a soft flame, warming his own face in the process. He kept walking a once familiar route, strange and mysterious now, covered in snow, blanketing the ground. He looked back, giving a sniff, before putting the mask back on over his face, gripping onto the machetes hilt.

That's when he spotted it; The Castle. Home.

Or, at least, what used to be the castle. Much of the crystalline structure had been damaged by the blast, but it was still standing strong. He ran over, peering at the side; the school had seen better days, half of it was collapsed in, the lake around it was frozen, though a waterfall still flowed.

It seemed the blast had, unintentionally, raised water levels, as he could see the lake was much higher than before. He walked up to the Castles front door, opening it up, tugging his mask off and giving a happy hum as familiar scents flooded his nose.

He was home.

He started walking along, giving a soft sigh as he walked into the throne room. He saw chairs overturned from the forces that once struck the land and gave a small sight.

He started with the first chair, the closest towards him, Rarity. He slowly pushed it up and set the chair down. He brushed the dust off of it, smiling softly as he remembered the first day he met her. He once thought she was the most beautiful woman he ever met. Those feelings had once stroked a powerful flame, but now were nothing but ashes and smoke within Spike.

He pushed up Pinkies chair, adjusting it into place. Flashes of her crazy parties and gemstone sprinkled cupcakes fluttering into his mind, her smiling face and bone crushing hugs. When he was younger, he used to be indifferent to them. Now, he wished he could feel her hugs again and cook food with her. Listen to her laughter and singing, make dumb jokes and puns with her. He sighed softly, staring at the chair.

He brushed his hand against Applejacks chair, the memories of the cowboy hat wearing woman flashed through his mind. The feeling of them relaxing under a tree, her hat being placed on his head while they watched the sunset together, fighting and running from the Timberwolves together, cooking together and laughing as they had fun.

He turned to Fluttershy's chair, some moths resting on it, before fluttering away from his movement. His mind filled with her soft voice and loving feelings, his hand clutching his own chair as he felt her warm hand land on hers. His heart quickened, his breath coming out as steam, tail curling around his own chair. Her soft voice, helping her with her animals, even the scary moments they both braved together.

His eyes scanned the room to Rainbow Dashes spot, his hand squeezing his own chair again. As brash as she was she seemed to have a soft spot for them. Especially him. Her pranks were pretty bad at times, but they always shared a laugh and brushed it off. Though, if anyone messed with him, she would be ready to pound the asshole into the dirt and flash him a cocky grin while doing it. So loyal, even when the world was on fire, he knew she would always be there.

Then his eyes turned to her chair. Twilight Sparkle. His oldest friend, his big sister, his teacher and mentor, the woman he looked up to. The woman that had been there through his good and bad times, who was there for his silly crushes, who was there when he lost himself to greed, who was there throughout everything. No one could ask for a better friend.

Gone.

His eyes stung, had he been crying? He didn't know or care. He wanted to rip his chair from his place and break the table in front of him. He wanted to smash the thrones and burn the world for his lost kin. He wanted to rip apart his very memories, knowing that his love and loss would be lost forever if he did that.

He did none of that. His anger and pain were a sweltering inferno that started to die down, seeing all six of his friends flash in his mind, smiling and trying to get him to run at them in time for the photo to go off. He looked upon the throne Twilight once sat upon, then pressed his forehead against it, tears trailing down his cheeks and soaking his mask, body trembling with half contained sobs.

He wouldn't let go of this pain, for it meant letting go of his friends. Letting go of his family. And he was willing to carry that pain, forever if need be, to remember each one of them. Even hundreds of years from now, when he would still be around and the world finally healed, he would still remember them. And that pain transformed into a sad happiness, knowing that they will always be a part of him, alive or not.

He rested for a moment, eyes red and mask still soaked. He tugged it off and stood up, making a silent promise to himself; should the girls still be alive, he will find them and bring them home. And, perhaps, they could find somewhere better to live. Together.

When he finally stood up, he wiped his nose with his sleeve, then took a deep breath. He started to walk towards the library first. If there was one thing Spike knew for sure, it was Princess Twilight was an egghead. She likely had a book on different foods and medical practices or even medical spells that could help other people out.

Before he went to the library in the castle, he stopped and looked upon the wall from his dreams. It was coated in dust, though, a strange mark was upon it, almost looking like a handprint, though it was far too dusty to be touched recently.

Thunderlane shook as he walked. He hated the cold. He hated the ice and snow. Really, he hated this whole experience. However, he kept trudging on, ignoring the icy chills that went up his spine. He felt the hair on his neck raise, making him look back, peering into the white snow. His eyes scanned every spot he possibly go through, the blizzard making it nearly impossible to see any threats or targets.

He shook the feeling off and wiped his gasmasks visor, wiping away water, then walked on. Meteor hummed softly as she peered at the door, Bulk underneath a window, watching her. She gave a soft sigh, before looking at Bulk, "Wouldn't happen to have a lockpick, would you?"

Bulk shrugged, Meteor standing up, staring at the door in front of her. "Why not just break the window?" Thunderlane muffled out, Bulk shaking his head at the young man.

"You don't want to cut yourself by accident. It would also make far too much noise, and we don't want to attract attention." Bulk explained, staring at the glass window. He adjusted his pack, then spoke, "We should go around the back, perhaps there is an employee entrance we can force open."

"You two stay here. I'll unlock the front, we'll probably need to make multiple trips if enough is intact, and I'd rather not have to go through the back every time." Meteor said, trudging through the snow, grasping a knife out of its sheath and clambering through the bushes. Bulk grasped his crossbow out and pressed it against his shoulder, keeping himself in a relaxed state, Thunderlane pulling a knife out and inspecting it.

There was the howl of wind, the snow blasting past them, Thunderlane putting his knife away and staring blankly into the blizzard. Bulk adjusted a bit, looking at some of the broken windows high above, giving a soft hum of curiosity, before looking back at the fellow skyblood with him.

"Hey, do you get the feeling we're being watched?"

Big Macintosh rubbed his hands together a bit whilst they took cover in a building. He put his gloves back on and looked around, seeing lights flicker as they walked along the aisles. They had decided to use a local grocery store to take cover in, though it seemed some type of animals had beat them to the punch, so to speak.

Many of the aisles had been trashed, cans of food smashed and splattered, the regular produce was long gone by now, and only a few cans were left. Silver was able to quickly find and put them in his bag, but it was clearly not enough. Silver sighed and adjusted as he knelt down and recounted for the fourth time, rubbing the back of his neck.

This was the third story they had checked, and with this one, they had been lucky. Not lucky enough, it seemed.

"Six cans of corn, three cans of soup, some packets of ramen, and what looks like some alcohol." Silver Spear mumbled out, before sighing loudly, the breath coming out of his gas mask, visible in the cool air. "This food won't last a few hours, much less a few months."

"Agreed." Storms voice echoed out from the back, before it sounded like the door opened in the back, the woman grunting a bit. "Next store?"

"Yeah, one more. Then we'll head over to Sweet Apple Acres." Silver said, zipping his bag up and walking towards the back. Big Mac made to follow, only to stop when he saw something flutter by the front window.

He gave it a look, kneeling down a bit, only for the shape to take form; a Mutt. It, luckily, had no spotted them and was just sitting there, resting in the blizzard. Its thick fur and fat kept it nice and warm in these cold conditions, and it seemed to be just sitting there, resting.

It suddenly looked up and gave a whine, before scampering off, disappearing into the snow, Big Macintosh trying to follow its vision with his eyes, not seeing anything through the snow. He pulled his crossbow out and started to walk after Silver and Storm.

As they walked to the next door, both Big Macintosh and Silver Spear stood guard, crossbows at the ready, silently watching both sides of the alleyway. Storm knelt down and pulled a pin out, starting to pick the lock. Big Macintosh twirled his head around, before looking up, seeing a flash of movement. He waved Silver and pointed upwards, Silver nodding in response and tapping Storm, who gave a soft, muffled sigh.

"Do you know how hard it is to do this normally? I have to do it with water on my visor, snow smashing against me, and this clunky thing limiting my breathing, the one thing you two can do is give me some-"

They were interrupted when something landed on the roof, a loud rumble echoing out. They pressed up against the wall, Silver slowly drawing his crossbow back and starting to put an arrow into the string, Big Mac adjusting a bit and aiming, Storm stopping for a moment. Silver looked at Storm and nodded, Storm working faster, giving breathy curses. The sound of the roof shifting drawing closer and closer, Big Mac giving a silent grimace as he saw snow shift and fall off of the roof.

The roof creaked above them, two claws became visible, the head slowly being shown; it was some form of bat. It was massive, with long ears, slightly shorter face than normal, and bore some scars on its chest. It opened its mouth and released a heavy breath, fangs being shown off, ears twisting and twirling. It released a deep roar, foot claws gripping into the building, tearing hokes into the structure.

The lock clicked, it stopped twirling its ears around, giving a soft huff. The trio froze, the massive beast sat there, like a Gargoyle, waiting for another sound. It was going to turn, when a deep howl rang out into the wind. Its head snapped that direction, it giving a throaty rumble, before walking back onto the roof, out of sight. The three let go of a breath they were holding and silently slipped inside, closing the door behind them.

The Gargoyle growled as it landed in the alleyway they were in, its wings curled in as it walked on all fours. It stuck its nose to the ground and sniffed, giving a growl as it picked up the trios scent. It looked over to the door, seeing the footprints no covered by the snow, thanks to the roof of the building. It gave a soft rumble as it looked at the door, curling its lips back to show off its fangs. It brough its one fingers up, a sharp, scythe like claw at the end of its one finger. It slid its claw against the door, effortlessly slicing into it, before drawing its finger away.

It was strong, but it wasn't strong enough to attack all three of them in close quarters. It will wait for the perfect time to strike. It pulled its claw away and snarled as it caught the scent of something powerful in the air. It slowly clambered onto the rooftop, walking away from the door and watching. Waiting.

Bulk adjusted his bag, carefully, to try and fit as much medicine as he could. He unzipped the front pocket and put IV bags in there, sighing a bit as he looked around the room. He pulled out pills, strange needles, and even some blood bags that he put into the bag, making sure they would not break or be ripped apart.

Meteor walked by, tugging her mask off and giving a heavy sigh. The air was cold, but at least they could breathe, a soft clicking echoed out every so often, her pushing the button and popping the filter out. She started wiping it clean, pushing another filter into the mask and pocketing the now cleaned filter. Bulk looked at his mask and sighed, his breath coming out as steam, before he looked back up at Meteor.

"Something out there is watchin us." Bulk spoke, before looking back out, seeing a shape move out in the snow and disappear. Meteor nodded and knelt down by the window, readying an arrow in her crossbow.

"Yeah, I saw them a bit ago too. Five or six, maybe more." Meteor mumbled out, before adjusting her bag. "We can't just leave these things, there are too many valuable medicines and vaccines. We'll have to carry them back, and something tells me they are surrounding us."

Thunderlane took this moment to silently crouch in, aiming his crossbow around. "We got company. My bag is full, so we better high tail it outta here." Thunderlane said, before a smash in the next hallway made him aim the crossbow down the hall.

Meteor and Bulk stood up, readying their crossbows. They put their masks on and started to slowly step out, weapons drawn and ready. Meteor held a finger to her mask, Bulk and Thunderlane nodding as they turned around and started walking down the hall, only for a shadow to appear on the wall in front of them.

Bulk held his hand out, stopping them, the sound of sniffing being heard down the hallway. They took cover in a room, seeing a bed for a patient set up, though it seemed a body was there. They likely died shortly before the bombs fell, but the body looked preserved in the cold. Bulk pushed against the wall, Thunderlane and Meteor taking up the opposite side of the wall, Meteor grabbing the hilt of her knife as they heard the clicks of the animals claws.

The Mutt walked by the open the door, sniffing loudly as it walked by. It stopped by the door, sniffing the air and growling loudly, one of its massive hands gripping onto the door frame. It growled a bit as it peered into the room, sniffing the air as it slowly started to poke its head into the room.

Meteor grasped the hilt on her knife, slowly starting to slide it out. The Mutt gave loud, heavy pants, licking its chops as it peered into the darkness, trying to spot anything. A howl rang out deeper in the building, making the beast shoot up. It gave a bark behind itself, before running down the hallway, two others scrambling after it as it ran down the hall, the group waiting a few more moments before slowly peering around the corners.

When no threat came, they started to slowly make their way to the exit, crossbows twirling around. Meteor held her hand up, Bulk nearly falling down the stairs as he stopped, Thunderlane watching their backs, giving the two of them a curious look. Meteor peered down the stairs, before bringing a finger up to her mask, the duo nodding as they crept down the stairs.

At the bottom was a Mutt, who was in the middle of a nap. It snored rather loudly and humorously, tongue lolling out, legs kicking in the air. It seemed it was having a happy dream, with the way it huffed in its sleep. The Mutts deep brown hair was dotted.with scars and some sort of tumor was growing on her back, though her red claws and fangs just confirmed she recently fed.

Meteor took a position at the bottom of the stairs, aiming at the beasts face, Bulk slowly walking around it. Thunderlane stopped when it started wagging its tail, slowly turning to Meteor. Meteor took her eyes off the beast and nodded, before Thunderlane stepped over it. Meteor went to follow their example, only to jump over the beast and feel its tail hit the back of her legs a few times.

The beast snorted and snarled away, slowly sitting up, wiping its face with its big hands, the trio freezing. It stood up, stretching, before loudly flopping over, drifting back into sleep.

The trio held their breath, only for loud snores to fill the room again. Meteor nodded, the trio moved around the beast and down another staircase. This time, they were clear, so they moved towards the door.

That was until Bulk made it out first and was suddenly slapped away from the door and out into the snow. He gave a gasp of pain, his wings stretching out and flapping a bit. He got up and yelped in surprise as a Mutt pounced him, Bulks visor cracking when his head was slammed back into the snow.

He lifted his arm up on instinct, the beast biting down, making him yell out in pain. He tugged a knife out and stabbed into the beast again and again, an arrow suddenly lodging into its back. It roared in agony, before Bulk punched its face, knocking a few fangs out, making it stagger back. He raised his hand, knife clutched in it, and slammed it into the beasts forehead. It twitched a few times, before going limp.

Thunderlane ran over and gave a sigh, "Holy Celestia...fuck me, you okay Bulk?"

"Yeah. Yeah. Wow, this armored gauntlet saved my life." Bulk said, the clicking growing louder from his gauntlet as he raised it up, the breeze blowing by faster, making it kick up a notch in clicking He sat up, wiping the blood on his knife on the beasts fur, sighing a bit. "Wish it didn't have to be this way."

Meteor walked down and tugged her arrow out of the beasts corpse, looking all around. She looked down at her watch, then nodded, turning to the two lads. "Let's start heading back. The sarge will be expecting us."

Bulk sat there, breath shaky as he sheathed his knife. He just killed a living being. For self defense, but he killed it. His hand rested on the still beast and he closed his eyes, lowering his head. "I am so sorry."

Thunderlane rested his hand on Bulks shoulder, looking around, seeing shapes in the snow. "Come on, Bulk, we gotta go."

"Yeah, I know."

Spike adjusted his bag, before looking over at Sweet Apple Acres, the trees, which were once filled life and apples, were now barren and rattling in the wind. Spike looked down towards the barn and the house, his eyes scanning the porch from the tower. He looked down at the photo in his hands of the group of his friends he had snagged out of his room and sighed.

"Alright, I'll do one more thing, then I'll head home."

He started walking back downstairs when he heard a howl in the distance. He stopped, gripping onto his machete, then slowly started to walk down the stairs, peering into the darkness. He heard no movement, yet his grip did not lessen on the machete, slowly walking down the stairs.

He opened the door and stared outside, poking his head around to and fro. When he saw nothing, he scrambled out into the snow, ignoring the howling behind him, both of the wind and the beasts.

He walked pasted the school, giving it a glance, before continuing on. His mind slowly drifted back to his dream that one night. That voice sounded so familiar, yet he couldn't place a voice to it. It wasn't the Princesses, at least, not Princess Luna.

Perhaps it was Twilight? No, no, the voice was too different. Maybe Rarity? No, she has a far soother and elegant voice. As far as Spike knew, Rarity was not that powerful in magic. At least, not powerful enough to change his dreams.

And that hand, he didn't recognize it, at least no someone he knew. Perhaps it was some sort of strange beast or mysterious helper? Or maybe it was one of his friends, disguised, hiding in another form in his dreams? Why would they need to hide their forms?

Was someone targeting them? Was that why they haven't come to look for him? Was it some sort of God or beast or-

He bumped into a wooden fence, knocking him out of his thoughts. He looked up, wind blowing across the dead trees, rattling their branches. He adjusted his mask, looking over toward the farm, his heart sinking at the sight. He noticed the sign of the Apple family on the ground and knelt down, brushing the snow off of it. He grasped it and lifted it up, putting it against the pole which once held the symbol of the powerful Apple family.

He pressed his hand against the Apple symbol and sighed a bit. "I'm sorry, Applejack. I really wanted to help your family out. I...I wanted to keep you and the other girls safe. Hopefully, this can bring you peace. Wherever you are."

He stood up and started walking towards the house, his eyes trailing along its porch. Like his dream, his eyes fell onto the chair, the bones of the matriarch lay there, undisturbed. He knelt down for a moment and gently rested his hand on the rocking chair, ignoring that his hand was creating steam, and let tears fall down his face, soaking into his mask. He lowered his head, shutting his eyes, and let the tears flow, steaming once they hit the ground.

It seemed that Spikes body was heating him up, unintentionally. His anger and pain and sadness came out, steam erupting from his body, before he looked back at the chair. He stood up, then threw down his machete, tore off his mask, and let loose a scream of rage and pain. It cut through the wind and howls, mixing into a roar at the end, before he slumped to his knees.

It took him some time, before he looked back at the bones on and surrounding the chair. He walked over and peered through the snow, before settling on a nice spot, near the house. He inhaled, before suddenly letting loose a stream of fire, melting the snow around him.

However, he wasn't done, he kept blowing the fire on the ground, heating it up, burning grass that had once been green and lively. He kept blowing the fire, warming up the ground and causing it to steam and melt the snow out of touch of his flames. He stopped, seeing the snow still melt into the ground, then looked around. He walked to the shed, forcing it open, breaking the lock in the process, and grasped a shovel.

Now, he will dig a proper grave.

Silver Spear walked down the road with Big Macintosh and Storm Chaser, following the battered fence as they walked. It was a quiet journey, Storm giving Big Mac a look every so often, one which he did notice. Eventually, Silver stopped and adjusted his gear, peering back at the two. "Okay, al ost there. We'll rest up and tug off our masks once we're in the clear. Rest up for a moment."

Big Mac took this chance to set his bag down and peer into it, adjusting some items to make his load easier to bear. He felt Storms eyes burn into him, making him sigh and turn to her, "What?"

She shot her head back the other direction, blushing as she has been caught. "Nothing, don't worry about it."

"You're lyin." Big Mac said, zipping his bag up and kneeling on the ground, resting for a moment. "If you're bugged by somethin, it's jus' easier to spit it out."

Storm sat there for a moment, before turning back to Big Mac, her voice muffled by the mask, asking, "Will you be alright? I know you mentioned your grandmother stayed behind when it happened."

Big Mac sat there for a moment, brushing his thumb against the side of his finger for a moment. Silver looked back at Big Mac, adjusting something on his crossbow as he listened.

"No. I reckon I won't be." Big Macintosh finally said, before looking back up, the snow blinding them from the view of the farm. "I'll probably be a mess. But...thinkin about things won't help our people. I can mourn later. We need to help 'em now."

They sat in silent for a minute, before Silver adjusted on his legs, clearing his throat. "We should head to the farm now. The sooner we are out of this storm, the better."

The soft clicking of their wrist mounted counters filled the air as they walked. Had they stayed a few minutes longer, they would have seen the grey shape in the snow, heading towards the farm, wings outstretched and claws ready.