Feast

“It's give or take, I know it well”
Crickets, they were my sole companion that night. I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t move, I was trapped. I was trapped by my own emotions, my fear, and my sadness. I scared to close my eyes because I knew the face of the dead waited for me, nightmares I couldn’t escape, and I was scared to keep my eyes open because I cried at the world before me. I was in Slender’s small house, pretending to sleep just to calm the others. The events that followed today’s attack were obvious; Slender brought us home, Star helped Alaina with Derpy and me, Slender barely watched or said anything, Shock looked at me the entire time. We were given stacks of hay soon after, and “slept”. I didn’t pay attention much during that, all I was focused on was Slender, I had so many questions, and so much rage. My heart weighed a pound, my head was numb, and my body was nothing but a heap. In more ways than one, I was one of them. The night almost looked inviting, it was speaking to me, that I would be safe, that I would be safe. I stood up then, because I knew that if I stayed, the night would take me. I limped, each step numb, difficult. I made my way in the dark to the front of the house, to him. He was just standing there, looking out the moonlight, staring. “You should rest.” He said. I wanted to yell at him, to tackle him but instead I spoke as well, “You should help more of us.” He didn’t move, he didn’t even flinch, and it seemed as if though my words meant nothing to him. “You don’t understand…this is not my battle.” I stopped then and sat down on a chair.
“So that’s it? You’re just going to give up on this, on us?”
“I can’t save everyone Austin….”
“That is not what this is about. You control this! You monitor what happens to the dead! Why can’t you do your JOB!?
“This situation is not mine to control. Tell me, how do you know they’re dead?
“….”
“Are you certain it isn’t a virus; A curse?”
“YOU SHOULD KNOW! YOU’RE A DEMON FOR GOD’S SAKE! A FREAKING DEMON! “
He turned then, not his full body just his, just to look and “face” me.
“So that makes me responsible for what happens to every individual here? I am not a savior, I’m not a soldier, and I am NOT A HERO”
The last three words sent a chill up my spine. The numb rumbling sensation travelled from the middle of my spine to the very top of my neck. They weren’t even loud words, just cold, without emotion.
“No one is….no one wants to be. With what’s happening now, being a hero is suicide. Thing is Slender, you don’t need to be a hero to help someone. You showed that today, you saved me and the others. Why is it so different from saving anyone else?”
“….One day you will understand Austin, hopefully. For now, just go to sleep. Take back the rest you have lost.” He responded.
I said no more words, and neither did he, we were both silent, I stared at the floor and he stared at the moon. I slowly stood up and made my way to the room which held my “bed”. I laid myself down and shut my eyes. Perhaps my nightmares were more bearable than my reality.

The voices of my friends woke me up. Honestly I was kind of surprised I had slept at all. The sun was blinding, forcing me to squint just too barely make out my hand. I sat up and examined the room to find that I was the only one still in bed, even Derpy Pants was gone. The voices outside continued but I can’t make out anything they’re saying. It was then when I realized how cold it really was, and how close winter was. I rubbed my eyes furiously, the lack of sight annoyed me and the kaleidoscope-like shapes in my eyes weren’t helping. I slowly moved out of my bed, like an old man reaching for something on a high shelf. The hay was so tempting to just fall back into and sleep for a few more hours, but the voices and my nightmares made me push away the decision. It wasn’t long before I had reached the door and stepped outside. The wind was cold, yet bearable, the smell of fall felt so eerie and depressing, almost like it was mocking me; the perfect setting for the perfect disaster. My hand rose to shield the sun from my face, and I could make each and every one’s outline. It seemed like a pretty heated debate, with no real sides. I walked closer until everyone was aware of my presence. The chatter stopped then, but the looks on their faces didn’t change. Alaina, Shock, Star Dust, Derpy (in his wagon) and Slender were here. The mysterious pink pony that I saw earlier was nowhere to be seen. No one seemed to want to talk, and so, I began the conversation.
“What’s going on?”
Star and Alaina didn’t move, Slender watched Shock, and Shock spoke.
“Alaina believes that we should go find Kim and Shimmer to make sure they’re okay.”
That seemed to be correct, seeing as how no one moved and Alaina looked grim. Everyone was silent and so was I. I crossed my arms and placed my hand on my chin. Kim Coleman and Shimmer Tart were very 2 very close “friends” of mine and even more so to Alaina, at least before this happened. I had known them almost since the day I arrived in this place but the 3 of them have known each other almost since birth. I could understand the cause of conflict at that point, Kim and Shimmer each lived incredibly far away, not to mention that there may be the chance that they might be there anymore. Shimmer was at Canterlot when it fell, and Kim could be anywhere. They both might even be dead, making the entire journey just one long, sad, worthless quest. I couldn’t side with anyone in particular, it was a debate based on perspective and nothing more.
I turned to Shock and said “Did you tell her about Shimmer at Canterlot?”
I had told Shock Wave and Star Dust about my sighting of Shimmer and the others, but I think they already saw it for themselves.
Shock opened his mouth to speak but Alaina beat him to it; “Yes, and I saw it too, but he missed what happened afterwards. Shimmer ran away from Canterlot, we don’t know why, maybe because since the shields ere down, she thought it was unsafe. We couldn’t find Kim.”
I responded, “Which way did she go?”
“Opposite Ponyville.”
She went back home, I thought. Shimmer had run back in the direction of where she lives and where Kim lives. Now came the tricky part, what were my thoughts on this? I could understand Alaina wanting to find her friends, but how was it any different from asking the group to search Equestria for Noble, or Colgate or Aaron or Callie? There were so many names and so many risks. I was at a loss of words, which at that point Slender spoke.
“Alaina received a letter from Kim at the asylum where she works concerning the news of an “outbreak” in Ponyville. The contents of the letter show that Kim was unsure about these rumors despite it becoming a reality 1 or 2 hours later. It is quite possible that Kim stayed in the asylum during the outbreak.”
Star turned and spoke next “It still doesn’t give a guarantee that she’s there or that she’s even alive! Let alone the fact that to travel there isn’t going to take just a few seconds either, it’s still not worth getting killed for.”
Shock then spoke, “And why are we just finding those two? What about anyone else’s friends or family?”
The situation was quickly getting out of hand. Voices began overlapping, and soon it was no longer a debate. Slender then spoke once more, “Silence!”
No one spoke, and the argument ended right there.
Slender then continued, “For those who wish to search for the two mares there may be a way to do so without casualties, teleportation being one of them, just another benefit of being a demon. It’s possible that we may be able to arrive there via this method a few dozen meters from the place to allow ourselves to observe the area ahead. Once inside the asylum, we eliminate the threats inside if any and search for Kim. Now the only question is who would like to go…I propose Derpy, Austin, Alaina and Star stay behind, Shock may come if he chooses. ”
I was shocked to say the least, last night Slender had trouble getting around the word “help” and now he was willing to go to an asylum to find one person, maybe even alone. It didn’t make sense; yet, I wasn’t going to stay here either. My leg was healing, I could run, and walk at normal pace. My priorities where saving the people who had made me laugh, cry and feel “human” despite me existing in a universe not like my own , these people were my friends and I’ll be dammed if I wasn’t going to help them.
“I’m going!”
“Me too!” said Alaina.
“I’m not staying!” shouted Derpy.
Voices overlapped each other again, and the situation got out of control once again. The four of us were yelling right at each other’s faces (except Derpy who was in his wagon and Star and Shock who said nothing). There was no compromise, no agreement, just rational opinions. Alaina wanted to save one of her best friends, I wanted to do the same, Derpy wanted to anything other than stay in the wagon and Slender………I have no idea what Slender wants.
“SILENCE!!” Slender yelled.
The ground shook slightly with the yell and the arguing once again stopped abruptly. Before anyone could say anything or even react to what had just happened slender spoke once again.

“SHOCK AND AUSTIN MAY COME IF THEY WISH, HOWEVER ANY FAULTS MADE BY AUSTIN WILL BE HIS OWN AND HE ALONE WILL ACCEPT THE CONSEQUENCES. DERPY PANTS WILL STAY DUE TO THE FACT THAT HE HAS NOT EVEN EXPERIMENTED WALKING AGAIN. ALAINA AND STAR WILL STAY TO TAKE CARE OF DERPY BUT ALAINA MAY LEAVE IF SHE CHOOSES. STAR WILL STAY TO CARE FOR DERPY WITH HER MEDICAL EXPERTISE. THIS IS FINAL….”
No one moved, no one spoke; my heart pulsed at the speed of a jet and my knees shook with anxiety, and yet it took me what appeared to be hours for me to process this feeling. Fear, I was scared, not of Slender but of everything that had taken place and that was taking place. It wasn’t a recent discovery however, but this “reminder” of my emotions made me realize the severity of the situation and the true cost of our actions should we fail. I wanted to go, and in my heart I knew I would eventually, but the fact Slender Mane had singled me out made me feel about where I stood in this. Slender looked at Alaina for a moment and then then both of them walked back to the shed. Seconds later, so did Shock and Star. I was eventually left alone with Derpy Pants. I scratched my head and sighed heavily and moved to push Derpy’s wagon closer to the shed. I was walking behind the wagon when he spoke up from inside;
“Austin...”
“Yeah?”
I need…you…to help me...”
“What do you need help with?”
“I need…to find her….”
Instantly I knew what he meant, and instantly I knew my answer.
“NO, I can’t.”
“Please…”
“Derpy-“
“She is all that I have left now! I won’t leave her!”
At this point I was at a loss of words, and so, I looked towards the ground and ran through my options, biting my lip.
“I’ll help you find RB and Callie,”
Instantly my ears perked up at the mention of their names, and I looked Derpy straight in the eye. He knew that RB and Callie were one of people that are glued to mind since this started. Me and RB go all the way to the beginning of arrival here, and Callie is his girl; last time I checked, she was pregnant. Even if there was the possibility that I could reach them, there was no way I was leaving the group and there was no way Derpy could help much. I knew that his wing injury didn’t affect his walking but it obvious he needed a few more day of rest, then again, that goes for the two of us.
“Think it over.” He said.
I looked at Derpy one more time and rolled his wagon towards the shack.

I was ready to the least, hammer, knives, map and binoculars. It was quite pathetic from a distance, especially when compared to Shock Wave who had a pickaxe, but it was all I had now. The 4 of us were ready and surrounding Slender with the exception of Shock Wave who was kissing Star good bye. It saddened me; the fact that anyone could die, even the ones who don’t deserve to or shouldn’t, that is why I was sad; but I tried to block the emotion out of my mind. Shock moved back to us and “stood” on guard. Slender spoke first;
“Star and Derpy will be safe here, guarded against any attacks, is everyone ready?”
We nodded without saying a word. Neither did Slender he turned around and didn’t do anything. A nanosecond later, I felt my entire body rushing through something like a wind tunnel with several unknown things passing by. It took my breath. Away literally, I couldn’t breathe and my vision began to dim. I wasn’t going unconscious; I just slowly lost vision of anything. Just as soon as everything had gone, everything began to slowly reappear again. I began nearing a white light and soon, my vision was blank. I couldn’t move or feel or breathe or do anything, all was still. Moments later I was slammed into the ground near Slender’s feet gasping. I was shocked, confused and nauseated. All of what had just happened took place in a matter of mini seconds, and my mind was still trying to process this. Teleportation; despite being portrayed as awesome in TV and film, was not very awesome after all. I looked to my left, and saw that Shock and Alaina had almost the same reaction as me but Slender was fine. I managed to let out a small smile, mainly because the experience was like 5 second roller coaster. We had teleported at the edge of a forest, I could see the mental ward clearly, and we were very close. My mind was spinning, my body felt useless and my stomach was doing back flips. I stood up anyways, because somehow my body was still functioning. My “relief” soon turned to horror when I “it”. It was just trotting right behind Shock Wave, mouth half way open, in a few seconds it would be over. I screamed Shock Wave’s name and reached for my hammer but I knew it was too late. I turned back to face him, expecting the worse, only to be surprised again. In one swift move, Slender had right through the head of the infected, tearing its head neatly into two pieces, splashing brain and blood bits away from shock and killing the infected. Shock dropped to the group and I just stood there. I didn’t have time to think just to notice what Slender was looking at. There 4 of them, all hunched over one corpse, staring at us, growling and rising from there fresh kill. Before they had even moved, 4 tentacles lashed out and severed each and every one of their heads in half. It was now that I realized that I was holding my breath, I let out a long breath of relief. These damn things couldn’t get any creepier could-
Several growl and snarls came from behind me, and we all turned around to face the several infected which had seen the whole thing. There were some far and some close but all deadly, the door was right in front of us. There was only one way out of this, a very fast, insane sprint.
“MOVE” boomed Slender.
We didn’t need to be told twice, me, Shock and Alaina sprinted like hell was chasing us. Slender also “ran”, all the while killing anything that got close. His kills were enough to give me even more nightmares that the one’s I already had. My heart was pounding when I reached the door. Surprisingly, it was unlocked. I pushed the door open, only to be greeted by a snarling, infected doctor. Adrenaline saved me this time, without hesitation or thought; I brought the hammer directly on the late doctor’s skull. Shock moved past me and so did Slender as blood caked my shirt once more. Slender locked the door and Shock checked the area. I did nothing; I just stood there beating the brains out of this “monster”. I was panting by the time I was finished and I rose slowly from my crouching position. I was still panting, overcome by this weird feeling. I looked at my bloody hands, mesmerized. Why was I so interested in my hands? That’s when I realized that it wasn’t my hands, it was the blood. My thoughts were interrupted when I noticed Shock staring at me while Slender looked around.
“I sense nothing, anywhere. This place is abandoned; nothing alive or dead resides here. I’m….sorry Alaina.” said Slender. Alaina said nothing; she only bowed her head and brushed a tear away with her hoof. I wanted to scream, to shout, and to cry. We had almost died to save our friend, one of us, only to find that we’re too late. I knew people will die during this, but I still kept this image in my mind of all of us making it, of all of us making it home. I didn’t want to face reality any more than I wanted to back on Earth, I wanted to believe the somewhere, somehow, Kim and everyone else were alive, and so, looked away from Alaina. I couldn’t take another breakdown, not today. It was several minutes before anyone said anything, and Slender was the first one to speak.
“Wait, I sense something.”
Everyone turned now, hoping for the best.
“2 life forms; non-infected, however one is wounded. Alaina…..it’s Kim. Third floor, Room 208, everyone come closer!”
Alaina stood with her mouth open, then again so did all of us. It was unbelievable, could Kim actually be alive? I was overwhelmed by joy and mystery that I forgot to move. It was Slender’s voice that woke me up again. In 5 seconds, we were in front of the door. Slender stood in front, and waited. 3 tentacles lashed out and ripped the door to pieces. We all stepped in, weapons ready. Instantly there was screaming, but not ours. There was one voice repeating the same line over and over,
“PLEASE DON’T KILL US! PLEASE, PLEASE!”
We stepped further into the room, and found 2 ponies. One, who was a grey, male Pegasus, was crying out loud and sobbing holding in his arms, another equally panicking blue pony. In front of hem laid a dead infected pony nurse, and next to her a rather large saw. Her head was in pieces. They’re screams were loud and repetitive, and they cried and cried. I didn’t know who the grey one was but I recognized the voice of the blue one immediately before entering.
It was Kim.

Alaina rushed forward and “pulled” Kim by her shoulders with her hooves. The grey one held onto to her furiously, but Alaina still managed to shake Kim. She screamed at Kim, she screamed at her to tell her to calm down, that everything was fine, that it was Alaina and not a “monster”. Kim screamed and shook and cried. She was so scared the she couldn’t think clearly. She screamed and screamed until she finally looked straight at Alaina Kim hugged Alaina hard, sobbing and crying, relieved that her nightmare was over. It was then that I noticed Kim’s right eye. It was bloody and empty; there was nothing there, just an empty socket. I was horrified and sad by this, and so I bent down and sobbed while staring at Kim. Shock held back tears while trying to calm the other pony and Slender watched quietly. I sobbed because, even though we were late and Kim was hurt, she was okay and we made it. We had risked our lives and saved one of our own. I wanted to jump for joy and burrow my head my head in a pillow and scream while sobbing. I crouched there quietly sobbing while watching them both, listening very carefully to the words Alaina said to Kim while she stroked here mane, soft and gentle words which found a new hole to live in my mind.
“It’s okay, it’s okay, everything is going to be better now. Everything is going to be fine…….”