Chapters Dealing With an Infection
Problems of a Dead World
Fluttershy's guest room stayed deathly silent, a jet-black sheet of darkness enveloping everything. A soft, chilling breeze worked it's way through the cracks in the timid mare's cottage, and worked their way over to the bed. A light-grey unicorn shifted uncomfortably as the light gust of wind from the outdoors flicked at his black mane. His face twitched slightly as a low groan exited his throat, still shifting his position slightly. Deep-brown eyes danced under the stallion's eyelids as his mind quickly went over the past's events.
M-Mom? Are you there? Mom?!
Dad?! What the hell are you... GET OFF OF-
NO! Get away from me, I'm calling the cops!
The grey unicorn thrashed to his left, loosely wrapped in the cold cloth that lie on the bed. His eyes were dancing wildly now, his twitches becoming more severe.
Dad... You stay the fuck away from me... I SWEAR I'll do it!
You brought this on yourself you stupid-
I'm... I'm sorry!
Dad?!
Dad, wake up! Please!
DAD!
Mom! He's going to wake up... Right?
Mom...?
A growl of anger escaped the unicorn's throat next as the previous events flashed across his mind. He shifted abruptly and ended up slamming his hoof into the nightstand beside the bed.
"Did you hear that?" A mare's voice sounded from outside of the bedroom, slightly muffled by the wood.
"Yeah, you think he's waking up?" A stallion's voice replied in a thick accent.
"M-Maybe... We should... J-Just let him wake up...?" A second mare's voice said.
Is there anyone here?
If there's anyone here, please speak up now...
I won't hurt you... I'm not one of them.
No... Stay back GOD DAMMIT!
The gray unicorn roared in anger, still faded from consciousness. His hooves slammed at the soft mattress under him, dampening the blows, but sending a stern thumping noise throughout the room.
"What's the bloke doing?!" The stallion's voice asked in a concerned tone.
"Shhh... I don't know..." The first mare replied.
Ha... It may be hell on Earth... But at least I've got a life-sized pony plushie...
Suddenly, the thumping stopped. The grey unicorn's eyes stopped frantically searching under their eyelids and he remained still, a slight grin coming to his lips.
It didn't move... You're just seeing things...
Where did it go?!
H-Hello?!
"Hello?"
Who's there...?!
You've got to be kidding me...
The grin grew wider on the stallion's face as a more pleasant memory flashed into his mind.
How are you here?! Are you infected?!
"Infected? Wha-?! Who are you?! And Where am I?!"
S-Sorry... Just.... A precaution... I'm Earl, and you're on Earth...
"Earth?..."
Yes. It's a planet similar to yours...
"I see... Well I'm Twi-"
Twilight Sparkle...
"Yes... How did you...?"
The grin grew wider on the grey stallion's face, and a short chuckle escaped his lips.
"T.V-? How in the name of Discord...?"
Don't believe me? You, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Apple Jack, and Fluttershy are the elements of harmony. You used said elements to defeat Nightmare Moon and ever since you've been living in Ponyville studying the magic of friendship.
"So you're not lying..."
"Damn right I'm not..." The unicorn mouthed with a slight chuckle, his eyes still shut.
A virus... A disease... You ever read a book about zombies?
It came about two months ago. Killed basically everybody and left me alive for some reason.
Ever since then I've just been surviving...
Hey...
Come on...
"I'm... I just want to go home... This is way too much..."
It's alright... I'll help you...
"But what of one of... Them gets me?!
I will not let that happen, alright? You're safe with me...
The smile only grew wider on the grey stallion's face. A small glow formed at the tip of his horn as tiny magical sparks began to flicker around it gracefully.
God DAMMIT!
I... Uhh...
I'm really sorry you had to see that...
I wouldn't ever take anything out on you, that is a promise.
Living this way can get to me sometimes...
A scowl quickly wormed it's way onto the unicorn's face.
It's me or them...
"Earl!"
Wow... Thank you...
Let's just... Go...
"Let's just go..." The unicorn mouthed silently.
It's alright, OK? If any of them get in here, they have to deal with me.
It can't get in, It's not alive. It can't get in, it's not alive.
It can't get in, It's not alive. It can't get in, it's not alive.
The twitching continued again under the eyelids of the unicorn, along with the nervous shifting.
Hey, look at me.
What I have in mind can get you away from all of this...
As much as I enjoy you being here, we need to try and get you home.
"You said you could protect me..."
And if I can't? I don't want to watch you die. That would be too much for me.
"So you're getting rid of me?"
Two months ago if I would have found you, I would have kept you and we would have been amazing friends. But, right now, you can't be here. It's way to dangerous for you.
A frown slowly crawled across the unicorn's face, and his bottom lip began to quiver slightly.
"Don't go..." He mouthed.
Think about home... think about Spike, your friends, the elements, the princess. They need you.
"Alright, stand back."
I'll stand guard, you'll be completely safe.
The stallion shook his head violently, and began slamming his hooves against the bed again.
"No... N-No..." He said, his voice choked.
We need to move, NOW!
"What do we do?!"
Get behind me!
"N-No!" The unicorn shouted, throwing the sheet from the bed, still lost in his dream.
"D-Did you hear that?" The second mare's voice said.
"Yeah... I think we should go in there." The stallion's voice said.
"Just wait... I think I know what's going on..."
Upstairs, now!
You need to get that portal open...
Ha... For emergencies only, huh dad?
Click-Click!
Get that portal open Twi... go home.
I'll take care of the downstairs. You just use this. The fear, the anger, the sadness. Use it.
You putrid, soulless, meat sacks want to eat ME?!
COME GET A FUCKING TASTE.
The grey unicorn began slamming his hooves against the nightstand again, cracking the wood slightly and sending more thumps blaring out of the room.
"COME GET A FUCKING TASTE." He shouted, his voice still dry and strained.
"Did he just say-?"
"He's having a revelation..." The first mare said, her voice slightly concerned.
"What happened?!"
I.... twisted my.....ankle...
What are you still doing here?!
"I'm not leaving you here."
Are you CRAZY?!
"Just trust me..."
"I-is that a bad thing, Twilight?" The second mare's voice asked.
"No... It's good... It will stop any more outbursts." The first mare replied.
"It better... I swear if he snaps like that again, I'll bleed him dry." The thickly-accented stallion replied.
"We should get in there..." The first mare said, slightly concerned.
"I'm still really surprised it worked..."
What worked?
"The spell..."
What spell...?
You turned me into a freaking unicorn?!
"I'm sorry! I just didn't want to bring an unknown creature through town, so I found this spell-"
Thanks! This is... just amazing... I'm a pony...
A purple unicorn slowly opened up the door to the bedroom, and looked to the bed where the grey unicorn was laying.
"Why is he smiling...?" A dark-blue, light-black maned pegasus said as he entered the room after her.
"He's reliving events... Some of them are... Good." The purple unicorn said with a slight smile coming to her lips.
"Princess Celestia wants me to go to Canterlot so she can talk to me about... the portal."
"I think you'd better come with me."
Me? Wouldn't she be mad if she found out?
"I don't know, but you were there too. I think it would be best."
"H-he's twitching..." A yellow, pink-maned pegasus said, standing nervously next to the dark-blue stallion.
"It's just a part of the revelation, Fluttershy..." Twilight said, staring intently at the unicorn on the bed. "Come on Earl... We need you..."
"Wow, how long was I asleep?"
Almost the whole trip, you were sleeping like a foal.
"Hey, I was tired."
Eh, it's fine you're kinda cute when you're asleep.
"Thank you."
"Now he's smiling again? It's like a bloody emotional roller coaster with this guy..." The dark-blue pegasus said.
"I know Static... I know..." Twilight said absentmindedly, a small tear falling from her eye.
"S-Shouldn't we wake him up?" Fluttershy asked quietly.
"I think we should just let him be. Like Twilight said, love." Static replied, gently placing one of his wings over the trembling and timid pegasus.
"I called you here today to tell you of a possible threat to Equestria... A bright light manifested itself in the Everfree Forest last night. Some creatures were spotted flooding out of the portal and into the forest."
"The creatures were said to be eating the animals in the forest."
"C-Creatures..." Earl mouthed silently, still lost in his revelation.
Static paused and looked to Twilight, his wing coming off of Fluttershy and coming to rest at his side.
"Creatures? You think he already knows?" Static asked, an eyebrow raised.
Twilight shook her head and continued staring intently at the grey unicorn.
"No..." She replied silently.
"T-The Zeds?" Fluttershy asked quietly.
Twilight nodded her head.
"The Zeds..."
I know what these creatures are.
I've..... studied them before, there's no need to explain anymore.
"OK, my subject, I will trust you."
I need your best soldier, The best soldier on your guard, I'll take him with me to the forest and we will deal with the infection.
"We just need to make sure he doesn't scream again... Half the bloody world will be here if he opens his gob again..." Static said, slightly annoyed.
"I'll make sure he doesn't," Twilight said. "Check on the barricades just in case."
Static nodded and briskly made his way out of the room.
"It's a pleasure to meet you sir, I'm Shining Armor. Celestia briefed me on the situation last night."
"Sh-Shining..." Earl said quietly , kicking his back leg slightly as his eyes twitched.
Twilight paused momentarily, her mouth agape. Another tear falling from her eye, followed by a second. In no time, tears were falling like a steady rain from the mare's cheeks.
"T-Twilight?" Fluttershy asked nervously, noticing Twilight's tears.
"If we're taking on an entire zed army, shouldn't we have at least one more member of our group?"
That makes a lot of sense actually...
So who are we looking for?
"Somepony who looks like they can fight, that's for sure."
Static quickly rushed back into the room, a bead of sweat lining his forehead and creating a soft glow against his coat.
"There's already three of them wandering around out front, I think we should... Twilight?" He asked.
"I'm fine... Just... Wait." Twilight replied, drying her tears with a hoof.
A stern thump sounded from just outside of the room, causing all three ponies to jump slightly in fear. Static growled and pointed to Earl.
"If he's not awake in 3 minutes, I'm waking him up." he said sternly, before exiting the room once more.
"Ah don't think mah sis' would like that too much..."
C'mon Mac. She'll be fine.
"Ah guess she'll be alright... ah mean, it's not hurting her at all, right?"
So you're in?
"Eyyup."
"Just get this done.... And start a new life..." Earl said in a quiet whisper.
Twilight cautiously inched a hoof towards her heavily-breathing coltfriend in an attempt to calm him, but just before her hoof could make contact, a voice shouted frantically from the living room.
"Twilight! Fluttershy! Get in here!" Static shouted.
The purple mare stopped, her hoof inches from Earl, and sighed. Retreating her hoof, she hurriedly trotted out of the room, followed by Fluttershy.
There's too many...
We can't do this...
But I can't die like this... No....
I'm not dying like this...
Suddenly, as if a blaring, mental-clock had gone off in Earl's mind, his eyes shot open. He layed, staring blankly at the ceiling, for several moments, processing the recent events. He remembered the forest, how he had quelled the invasion of infected humans from his planet...
...And how he had taken a small group back to Earth after the dust had settled. How a twisted man held him and his friends captive, tortured them, and tried to execute them.
Shining Armor...
Macintosh...
Dead at the hands of a man hell bent on trying to be the king of a new Earth.
All nothing more than problems of a dead world...
But now, here he was. Back in Equestria, Lying in a bed, in an unknown home, a chill running down his spine. He blinked once, before shakily uttering five simple words.
"I'm not dying like this..."
Revelation
Chapter 1: Revelation
Earl groggily made his way out of the bed, it's tattered sheets sprawled out across the floor from his previous fit of unconscious rage. He looked around the room for several moments, trying to process where he was. The grey-coated unicorn bore several stains on his fur, a frazzled and out of place mane, and blood-shot, twitching eyes. Eventually, through the darkness of the room, he classified the decor as Fluttershy's cabin from his numerous visits with Twilight, and allowed himself to calm slightly. He instantly snapped back to attention worriedly, as sounds of screaming filled the room next to him.
One voice? No... Several... He thought, trying to piece-together the situation happening just outside of Fluttershy's guest room.
A dull buzz echoed throughout his mind as he began to overcome the sensation of waking up after his lengthy slumber, and a high-pitched scream caused it to clear completely as his ears perked weakly upwards in fear. At first, he thought it might be Twilight, but it was too high-pitched to be his marefriend. It quickly dawned on him that he was in Fluttershy's Cabin.
"Get her in the corner and watch her! I need to take care of these bloody windows!" a voice called.
The grey, waking unicorn hadn't heard the second voice before. He narrowed his eyes and tilted his head in thought, trying to search his memories for the voice, but found nothing. It was rather peculiar, a thickly-accented stallion, with a synth-effect to it? Earl quickly shook his head to dispel the irrational thought. But the voice just sounded so... ghostly.
It was time to investigate.
With a soft groan of exhaustion, Earl stretched his muscles, causing them to scream fiery insults in return. He wobbled momentarily and stumbled to his left, and bumped into a nightstand beside the tattered bed. A small vase of flowers toppled over and fell to the ground with the piercing sound of shattered porcelain.
The stumbling stallion paused and tried to regain his balance while his burning forelegs trembled slightly. He lifted his right hoof into view for further examination of the exhausted appendage.
"What the hell...?" he whispered to himself in confusion of the weakened limb.
Out of the corner of his blood-shot eye, Earl spotted one of the flowers that had fallen along with the vase. Directing his attention to it, he noticed how dead the small plant was. The color had faded substantially from it, and it was beginning to crumble.
"How long... Have I been out...?"
His thoughts were quickly cut short however, when more voices sounded from the other room. This one, he recognized instantly.
"They're breaking through!" Twilight shouted worriedly.
Earl's ears perked up once more, higher and more alert than before as he heard his marefriend's worried tone, but continued to see nothing through the dense darkness blanketing the room.
"I know! Just... Stay back! I'll try and hold them off!" the stallion's synthy voice called in response.
A loud crash echoed throughout the halls of the cottage, followed by another frightened scream from Fluttershy. Without any further investigation, Earl broke into a sprint towards the door of the guest room, barely visible on the other side. He had already heard enough to know that Fluttershy and Twilight were there, and were indefinitely in danger from the amount of screams and worried shouts.
His speed allowed him to savagely throw the door open on contact, adding to the burn in his muscles for a moment. The light from the living room blinded Earl momentarily, and caused him to recoil and shield his eyes. Twilight screamed from across the room at his frightening entrance, but her face brightened as soon as she noticed him.
"You're awake!" she shouted thankfully.
"He's awake?!" the stallion's voice called from the other side of the room, his own covered by a low groan from the outside of the cottage.
Earl knew he had heard the groan from somewhere, but discarded the thought and turned his attention in the direction of the voice. Standing against the boarded-up window, was a dark-blue, black-maned pegasus. The pony's eyes glowed a bright red as his hooves were held firmly against the wooden boards on the window. He quickly turned in the direction of Earl.
"Get over here!" the blue pegasus called.
The grey unicorn froze completely and looked to Twilight for a moment, as if to ask her what to do.
"We don't have time to explain!" the pegasus shouted.
The tone of the pegasi's voice, mixed with it's synth-y, and ghostly tone, caused Earl to snap out of his dumb trance. He looked to Twilight once more, who frantically pointed a hoof in the direction of the red-eyed pegasus as he struggled against the slightly-shifting boards. With a nod, the grey unicorn trotted hurriedly towards him as several more crashes sounded near the window the pegasus was propped against.
"What's going on?!" Earl shouted frantically upon reaching him.
"Do you know battlemagic?!" the pegasus asked in return.
"Tell me what's-"
"DO YOU KNOW BATTLEMAGIC?!" the pegasus asked again, his tone growing angrier, and more shrouded in ghostliness.
"Yes!" Earl shouted in return.
"Use it!"
Before Earl could protest, the pegasus pulled away from the window, allowing a plank to fall and leave a substantially large hole in the wooden barrier. Instinctively, the grey unicorn looked through the window. Several ponies were viciously trying to gnaw their way inside of the hole. He froze in terror as he briefly examined their their appearance, fresh blood falling from the lips of one pony, along with several bleeding wounds scratched across it's faded chest. All carried one trait, possibly the most frightening, two stone-white eyes, glowing brightly against the cold darkness. One word quickly wormed it's way in to Earl's skull at the ravaged appearance of the creatures.
No... Not here... Not them... he thought, his eyes spastically scanning the creatures, trying to make sense of what he was seeing.
"Mate, we aint' got time for this! Hit em! " the pegasus screamed angrily.
Earl snapped out of his trance and narrowed his eyebrows. Within seconds, his horn began to glow brightly, before discharging a massive flash of light. An ear-shattering boom sounded throughout the walls of the cottage, in synce with an array of bright magical bolts, that shot out of the window. The bolts hit most of the ponies gathering outside of the home with it's extensive spread, and sent them flying backwards in a spray of crimson-red blood. Fluttershy screamed in fear once more as the intense volume of the shot struck her like a punch in the gut, and tears began running down onto the yellow fur of her face.
"Shh... They need to do it... To keep us safe..." Twilight said, tightening her embrace as she shuttered as well.
The recently-awoken unicorn stared through the gap in the barrier wordlessly as the ponies outside squirmed, slowly being taken to their deaths as blood poured out of the holes in their skulls like a crimson river. Earl opened his mouth to speak, but was sharply cut off by a hoof pulling his neck, and slamming him into a nearby wall, cracking the wood and his neck slightly.
"Now..." the pegasus began in a grim tone. "Why the HELL were you screaming at 'Shy?! HUH?! " the red-eyed pony said, pressing his hoof against Earl's throat.
The unicorn gagged at the amount of pressure and struggled, trying to escape the grasp. Immediately noticing his attempts to escape the grip, the pegasus narrowed his eyebrows and brought his free hoof into view. With a flick of his foreleg, the hoof was instantly shrouded in brightly glowing blue sparks.
"Start talking, NOW! " he shouted, his voice growing ghostly again.
Earl shoved himself into the wall further and jerked around, trying harder to escape the grasp as as the sparks casted a shadow on the terrified unicorn's face.
"Static, Stop!" Twilight screamed, standing up and taking a step away from her sobbing friend.
The pegasus ignored her plea and moved his sparking appendage closer to Earl.
"You want a shit-ton'a volts?! Start talking motherfucker!" Static shouted, the red in his eyes intensifying.
Twilight narrowed her eyebrows and sprinted towards Static and Earl, across the room. Upon reaching the two, she shoved Static away and planted herself in front of the mortified unicorn defensively.
"Leave him alone!" the purple mare shouted.
"How... The hell... Did he do that?!" Earl asked, catching his breath.
"You saw him scream at Fluttershy!" Static shouted in return to the purple-maned unicorn.
"Seriously, his... It was like, all... Sparky..." Earl continued, scanning the floor absentmindedly.
"When a unicorn goes through too much trauma, they undergo a revelation!" Twilight replied.
"What the bloody hell does that mean?!"
"It means he didn't know who the hell he was! Now back off! " Twilight shouted, her voice growing angrier.
The vicious tone in Twilight's voice caused the sparking pegasus to retreat slightly.
"He never would've done that in his right mind!" Twilight said, her tone serious and firm.
For several minutes, a quiet tension hung in the air of Fluttershy's cottage, as only the silent sounds of breathing and the soft, rhythmic sobbing of a timid pony echoed lightly off of the walls. After a moment, Twilight turned around slowly to face Earl, keeping eye-contact with Static for as long as possible.
"How do you feel?" she asked quietly.
Earl looked to her, then to the hole in the window, scanning the floor again.
"I... Better than before... But, were those-?" he asked, cutting himself off of his choked voice.
Twilight looked away for a moment and took a deep breath before quietly eliciting her answer.
"Yes..." she said in a breathy tone.
Earl closed his eyes and inhaled deeply as he aimed his head to the ceiling. His mind searched frantically for what to say next. A massive array of questions swirled like a hurricane in his mind. Was she kidding? Was it global? He settled for a simple question, as to not snap again.
"How?" he asked, barely audibly, opening her eyes to look at her.
Twilight hesitated for a moment, scanning the room, and eventually bringing her eyes to rest on Earl's.
"We don't know... They just... Showed up... We've been stuck here for about a week now." Twilight replied, almost as softly as her coltfriend.
The grey unicorn's brown irises grew widely as the words left her lips.
"A week?!" he shouted.
Twilight nodded slowly.
"I've been out for a week...?!"
"A revelation takes time, Earl..." she replied, bringing a hoof up to rest on the unicorn's shoulder.
"R-Reva-what?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes... Are you still hearing voices?" she asked.
Earl paused for a moment. He hadn't thought about the voices since he'd woken up. After hearing nothing over the silence in the cottage, he slowly shook his head.
"No... How did you-?" he asked.
"I've been around a lot of guards with traumatic stress... The revelation allows you to go through recent events and process it all... The voices were just a way of your brain telling you to stay alert." Twilight replied, her voice filled with wisdom, like she always had when she explained things to him.
The grey unicorn nodded and slowly lifted a hoof to his head. No raging headaches, no voices... Nothing.
"I don't mean to interrupt... But, there are pressing matters." Static said, raising a hoof.
Twilight looked to Static for a moment, before nodding slowly and tugging lightly at her hoof on Earl's shoulder.
"Come on... We've got a lot to talk about." she said softly, pulling him over to where Fluttershy was recovering, Static following close behind.
Earl obliged, and let her hoof guide him as the questions continued cycling through his recently-cleared mind. She gently sat him down next to Fluttershy, who cowered slightly upon seeing him, but calmed as Static took a seat on her opposite side, his red eyes still glued on Earl, a scowl on his face.
"So... We've been trapped here for a week, like I said." Twilight said, sitting across form the three ponies. "Static has been picking the attackers off one-by-one, but they just kept coming..."
Earl looked up and to his marefriend, an eyebrow raised.
"So.. You think this might be... Everywhere?" he asked.
"Wait. He already knows what these things are?!" Static asked, placing a hoof towards Twilight.
"Yes. I told you that!" Twilight replied, slightly annoyed.
"Well hell, I didn't think you were serious. S'not everyday you meet a 'Zombie Expert'!"
Earl scowled at Static and looked back to Twilight.
"I already hate this guy..." he said under his breath, his eyes meeting hers once more. "You told them about it?"
Twilight nodded, her eyes closed.
"Yeah, she did. And I'm starting to think you had something to do with it, mate. You seem pretty calm about the whole situation, wouldn't you think?" Static said.
The grey unicorn sighed and looked to the dark-blue pegasus once more.
"You classified me as the 'Zombie Expert', didn't you?" he said in a slightly snarky tone.
Static raised an eyebrow and nodded slowly.
"Then shut the fuck up. Staying calm is essential."
The red in the pegasi's eyes intensified for a moment as he returned to his hooves, ready to lunge at Earl,
"Oh, I'ma' wail on you, mate." he said in a grim tone.
The pegasus was stopped dead however, as Fluttershy put a hoof in his way.
"J-Just... Let Twilight fill him in, please..." she said softly, her voice shaky from the recent fit of crying.
Static hesitated for a moment, but hesitantly sat down again, and looked to Twilight.
"Continue." he said in a reluctant, grim tone.
"Do we... Know if anypony has survived...?" Earl asked hesitantly.
Twilight shook her head reluctantly, causing Earl to look to the ground, and place a hoof under his chin in thought.
"We've got a lot of work to do..." he said quietly.
Beside the Flickering Light
Chapter 2: Beside the Flickering Light
Earl sat, stone faced by a lamp in Fluttershy's living room as the hours went by. The timid pegasus had experienced more than enough for the evening and went to bed soon after, followed by Twilight, but not Static. Earl watched as the pony stood, staring out of the hole in the window as time passed, watching for anything that might be coming up to the cottage.
The grey unicorn looked down to his hooves as the light from the lamp flickered across the darkness of the cottage, casting ominous shadows against the furniture and decor. Pictures of Fluttershy and her friends could be viewed for a moment as the tiny flame danced, along with the usually bright-colors of her cottage. Thoughts crammed themselves into Earl's numbed brain like a rush-hour traffic jam. Things like possible safe spots, or teaching ponies to fight. It was easy to deal with something on such a small scale, but something like this was huge. He cursed under his breath at his foolishness. It was his fault, he knew that much, but why? Jackson had been killed, the zombies were dying out on Earth, but something had still brought it here.
The pony thought for a moment that the creatures he'd seen outside were nothing more than a couple of crazy denizens of ponyville. He'd seen ponies lose it before, maybe it was just one of those times?
But Twilight had seemed so sure. It would've been different if Static or Fluttershy would've informed him, but his own marefriend looked him in the eye and said; "They're here"
He shook his head and slammed a hoof to the floorboards with a frustrated sigh.
"Oi!" Static snapped in a hushed tone, craning his neck in Earl's direction. "Keep it down... Mare's are trying to sleep." he continued, staring daggers at the unicorn with two blue irises.
Earl sighed once more and nodded, bringing his hooves back to his face.
"Right... Sorry..." he said quietly.
Static paused for a moment, before looking to the floor of the cottage and sighing as well.
A shadow crept slowly into Earl's view as Static moved towards the center of the living room, and took a seat across from the sulking unicorn.
"So..." Static said, breaking the silence.
The blue pegasus cleared his throat once and looked to Earl.
"You... Really weren't in your right mind... When you yelled at 'Shy?" he continued.
Earl shook his head for a moment and shrugged, a manic, exhausted chuckled exiting his lips, followed by a quick clear of his throat.
"I-I don't know. I have no idea what is my right mind anymore..." he said, wiping a bit of nervous sweat from his brow.
His mood was already terrible, and getting another sparking hoof in his face wasn't going to make it better. He looked up and met the pony's eyes across from him.
"I've known Fluttershy for a while, and I wouldn't do that... Believe me if you want... S'up to you..." Earl said, aiming his head back to the floor.
Static swallowed and cleared his throat, looking off into the distance around the cottage he shared with Fluttershy.
"I'll take your word for it, mate... Lying wouldn't help either of us in this situation."
I know that all too well... Earl thought, chuckling to himself for a moment.
"Thanks..." he said, trailing off.
A long silence was hanging through the cottage, save for the gentle creak of the floorboards as the two ponies sitting opposite to each other shifted nervously. Static searched quickly for something to say, opening his mouth momentarily before his thoughts had been gathered. After a few more moments, he looked to Earl once more.
"So... How did you meet Twilight?" the pegasus asked.
"It was a... Science experiment." Earl said, pausing momentarily. "You?"
"Friend of Fluttershy's."
Earl nodded in response, trying to get past mandatory introductions as fast as possible. The previous events had left little time for a friendly introduction, and there was one question burning on Earl's mind. The unicorn looked to Static, scanning his forelegs, examining them closely. They had been so quickly engulfed in a ball of sparks, like some kind of spell. He paused for a moment, and shifted his eyes to Static's forehead.
No horn.
"Looking for a horn, mate?" Static said, cutting Earl out of his examination.
The grey stallion shook his head dumbly and then opened his mouth to speak.
"Save it, I aint' royalty." the pegasus continued, smirking and bringing his hoof into view.
With a flick of his foreleg, the appendage was instantly shrouded in a brightly-glowing field of blue sparks, in-sync with a low hum of electricity that echoed throughout the walls of the cottage. Earl fell back slightly upon seeing the hoof light up again, and smirked slightly.
"Christ, man... You're gonna' kill me by heart attack before that thing even gets close." Earl said nervously, adding a chuckle to try and seem comfortable.
Static's smirk faded into a shy smile, and the sparks disappeared. His hoof returned to the wooden floor of the cottage as the lamp continued casting a small amount of light throughout the room.
"How do you... Y'know...?" Earl said, mimicking electricity around his left hoof.
The pegasus chuckled softly at his crude interpretation of the ability.
"Got it in a storm.... 'S a long story... Maybe another time, lad." he said with a slight smirk.
Earl nodded and looked back to the lamp. It was a better answer than getting a few million volts traveling through his body, so it would have to suffice.
Weariness so began to take over Earl's body, and his eyelids felt heavy for a moment. They fell slightly and feathered before he brought them back up urgently, trying to keep himself awake, and shook his head for effect. It did no good however, when they began to falter once more, and shut. Static chuckled to himself and nodded towards the pony in front of him, dosing off as the seconds went by.
"Cottage is secure." Static said, causing Earl to spring upwards again, and meet the pegasi's eyes. "Save for the one window." he continued, pointing to the previously broken window.
Earl nodded slowly, looking to the lamp as his vision started to blur.
"Why don't you call it a night. Go join your mare." the pegasus said, pointing a hoof down one of the nearby hallways.
The unicorn nodded and groggily made his way to his hooves, and gave a small stretch before looking to Static once more.
"I'm glad we could, you know, settle our differences. I mean no harm, and I won't." he said.
Static gave a simple nod, and Earl made his way down the hallway, eager to feel the warmth of sheets again.
Upon reaching the door, he lightly turned the handle with his tired and achy hoof. Thankfully the old wooden door made almost no noise upon opening, and allowed him to silently enter the room.
"Hey." he heard Twilight call from the darkness, her voice soft and cracking slightly.
Earl raised an eyebrow and made his way towards the bed in the center of the guest room. With a small thought of afternoon sunlight, a gentle ball of white formed at the tip of his horn, whisking away some of the darkness that enveloped the room. He noticed Twilight's eyes first, bloodshot and showing obvious signs of exhaustion.
"What's up? You seemed so tired earlier." he said softly, taking a seat at the foot of the bed.
She shrugged and sighed, sitting up in the bed.
"I haven't slept in three days, and even then I was running off of an hour." she said, rubbing her eye.
"Well, what's on your mind?" he said, scooting closer to her.
"It's the apocalypse, Earl. Not on your world. My world. Our world." she said, her voice desperate and shaky. "I only know that Fluttershy and Static are OK, but we couldn't leave until you woke up. I don't know if Rarity...Pinkie, or Applejack, or Rainbow, or anypony else is OK! For the first few days I just... I just cried, and cried. I felt lost, I-It's... It's driving me nuts-" she said, her words growing louder and speeding up.
"Hey." he said, resting a hoof on her shoulder, causing her to stop and take a deep breath.
"I just... I'm not losing my friends. I can't. I need to know they're OK... And my parents?! I just..." she said, tears beginning to fall from her eyes. "I lost my brother... Wasn't that enough?!"
Earl looked to the sheets of the bed, trying to avoid seeing her cry.
"Look... I... I'm awake now. I'll go look for them tomorrow. I'll bring them back safe and sound, alright?" he said, shaking his head and looking to his marefriend.
She shook her head in return and fell back, letting her neck rest against the headboard of the bed.
"What if they're already gone.... Or infected?" she asked, tears sliding down her face.
Earl shook his head, fighting back his own tears. He crawled into the bed the rest of the way, and worked his way under the sheets, placing a foreleg around Twilight.
"Don't think like that... We've got to stay strong, you know?" he said softly.
The mare grabbed the hoof wrapped around her and squeezed it tightly, sliding back down onto the mattress until her head rested on the pillow, and her mane was sprawled upwards.
"I know." she said almost inaudibly with a nod.
Earl nodded as well, and pressed his body further into hers, and tightened his grip. The mare reacted the same, placing her forelegs onto his, and closing her eyes.
"Don't worry anymore, Twi... I'm going to fix this... Just get some sleep." he said quietly, as the mare slowly shut her eyes, and drifted off to sleep.
Chapter 3: Killing Flame
"Nails! Get'chur ma', now!" Saw Horse shouted over the roar of flames engulfing his room.
His smaller sibling scrambled for a moment, trying to avoid the flames tearing down their home. The filly looked around, trying to search for an area that wasn't surrounded by fire. After finding nothing, she looked to her brother, locked in a defensive stance as his horn spat a blast of blue frost, trying to quell the growing flames around him, and waved her forelegs wildly.
"Ah can't!" she shouted, terrified.
Saw looked around for a moment, the intense heat causing every pore on his body to produce a seemingly endless amount of sweat. He wiped a bit from his brow, and looked around the room for some sort of escape.
"H-Hang on, sis'!" he shouted, spotting a large hole burnt through the wall.
He turned his attention to the opening and blasted a large amount of frost towards it, setting out the flames for a brief moment.
"Go! Get ma' outta' here! Now! " he shouted over the crackle of flames.
"Where's Hammer?!" Nails asked trotting hurriedly towards the exit.
Saw Horse froze momentarily, his body going numb as he realized he hadn't taken account of his other sister, Hammer. He cursed under his breath and jumped towards Nails as the burning roof began collapsing above them. Wrapping the small filly under his foreleg, he jumped again through the hole in the wall just in time before the fire in front of it started up again. He landed with a thud in the hallway, and placed his sister on the floor next to him, pointing to the stairs down the hallway.
"I'll find her! Just go!" he shouted, returning to his hooves as the filly sprinted down the hallway.
He made his way in the opposite direction, bringing his orange life-preserver jacket over his snout to block the growing smoke around him, and crouched low to keep it out of his eyes.
"Hammer?!" he called down the hallway, looking to the several doors lined across the walls, the flames raging around him.
Saw heard a faint voice from the door at the end of the hallway, and began walking faster towards it.
"Ham?! Talk to me, girl! Let me know where you' at!" the country-unicorn continued.
"In here, brother'!" the filly replied, barely heard over the roar of flames and the wood of the door.
Saw narrowed his eyebrows and stood up all the way, breaking into a full-sprint towards the end of the hallway, and throwing his weight into the door. It buckled under the force, and slammed against the wall, causing a small amount of the ceiling to fall just in front of him.
"Shit!" he shouted in fear, looking to the ruble for a moment.
"Saw!" Hammer shouted from the other side of the room, causing the unicorn to look upwards.
A small, yellow filly stood, hiding behind the side of her bed, waving her arms wildly.
"Over here!" she continued frantically.
Saw's chest fluttered with a small amount of hope as he saw his little sister safe on the other side of the room, and smiled brightly under his smoke-mask. He began stepping towards the bed carefully, waving a hoof at her.
"I'm comin', Ham!" he shouted.
The filly stood up from behind her bed and began running towards him across her bedroom. Saw opened his forelegs in response, allowing his jacket to fall from his snout and reveal his bright smile. In the top of his view however, he noticed a large, flaming, loose beam hanging just above the area between the two ponies. His smile instantly disappeared, and time seemed to slow for a moment. Hammer, oblivious to the danger above her, continued running towards her brother with a wide smile. Saw began frantically waving his hooves and opened his mouth to yell to her, but it was far too late.
With a loud snap, the beam fell from the ceiling as time began slowing even more for Saw. Hammer noticed his change in attitude, and instinctively looked up to see the beam just above her. It landed with a large crash, and a sharp crack of the filly's bones. She buckled under the force of the wooden beam, along with the floor, causing both to fall to the first floor as blood painted the burning walls of Hammer's bedroom.
Saw Horse stood with his jaw dropped at the hole in the burning floor, and the blood splattered across the bedroom. He fell to his knees, the dryness in the air not allowing tears to come to his eyes, and choked words exiting his mouth.
"H-H-Ha-" he tried to say, his throat dry and scratched. "H-HAMMER!" Saw screamed, staring blankly at the hole in the floor.
Another burning beam fell just beside the deceased-filly's bed, causing him to snap back and return to his hooves almost immediately. He looked between the door and the hole frantically, trying to decide which to run to. After starting towards the hole in the floor, he stopped abruptly and turned the other direction, then did the same, then again, and again, back and forth as his mind shouted and screamed at him to do both things. He shook his head once and made a final turn towards the door.
"I-I'M SORRY!" he shouted, before sprinting through the door and down the hallway.
The tan unicorn jumped over several burning steps and made his way downstairs, bringing his coat back up to his snout as the thick smoke from the bottom floor hit his face. He crouched low and quickly made his way into the living room.
"Mama'?! Mama?! Where are you?!" he shouted as the roar from the burning home continued.
He stopped dead once more as he looked to the couch in his family room, and saw another large, burning beam had crushed the piece of furniture almost entirely. His heart sank as he witnessed a large amount of blood pooling from the destroyed couch, along with a faded-red foreleg twitching from beneath the massive piece of wood.
"N-No.... C-Come on! COME ON! " he shouted, letting his face fall into his hooves.
He snapped his neck upwards and looked to the beam, inching closer to it as his forelegs dumbly spurred him in the direction of the burning hunk of wood.
"M-Mama'... Mama, please... A-Answer me..." he said mindlessly, his expression completely bent into a look of extreme depression.
Saw was quickly cut off however, as a large boom sounded from the kitchen, in-sync with the fires from the next room growing larger, and a scream echoing throughout the charred home. He would recognize the scream anywhere, and quickly sprinted into the next room, only to be met with another ghastly sight.
Nails stumbled about the burning kitchen as her coat was shrouded in brightly-glowing fire, a blood-wrenching scream escaping her throat as she ran about the burning room, trying to put the fire surrounding her coat out. Saw Horse stumbled as well for a moment, and shook his head, trying to find a solution.
"H-Hold still!" he shouted, frantically trying to charge his frost spell.
After a few agonizingly slow seconds, a bright-blue burst of magic left his horn, and began extinguishing the flames surrounding his sister. Once they were out completely, the burnt-filly fell to the floor, still screaming loudly. Without a second thought, Saw rushed towards his sister and scooped her up into his forelegs again, eliciting a high-pitched cry of pain from the filly.
Trying to ignore her cries, Saw sprinted towards the front door of their burning home, trying to escape the still-growing flames. Reaching the front door, he turned and rammed it with his back, causing it to fly open and allowing escape from hellish nightmare that had taken his mother and sister. He stumbled onto the front lawn of their home, and lightly rested his whimpering sister on the grass. Tears began falling from his face also, as he took in the sights of his sister's face and body. Half of the filly's cheek had been burned completely off, her teeth showing through the charred skin, along with several burn wounds painting the pony's coat.
He raised his hooves to try and find some way to help, but could do nothing. Only watch as his sister cried and moaned in pain on their lawn, the house still burning behind them.
"W-We're gonna get you help, Nails... J-Just... Hang in there..." Saw said, placing his hoof on the filly's forehead.
"J-Just... Make it stop... P-Please..." she said, her voice choked and filled with pained grunts and moans.
Saw Horse cocked his head upwards, and scanned the area around their house, shrouded in the darkness of midnight.
"SOMEPONY!" he shouted desperately. "SOMEPONY! ANYPONY!"
There was no response, only the steady weeping of his sister.
Looking down to her, he saw her eyes begin to falter and slowly shut.
"N-No... Nails... Don't... D-Don'chu give up on me girl'." he said, gently shaking his sister.
"A-Am... A-Am I dying brother?" she asked softly, her eyes still faltering.
"No! I... I aint' gonna' let'chu!" he said, scanning her charred body for a moment. "T-There's some bandages in the shed, w-we gon' fix you up!"
Saw looked to the shed across from the burning home for a moment, then back to his sister.
"I-I... I love you, b-brother..." Nails said softly, her eyes finally shutting.
Her body fell completely limp, followed by complete silence, save for the crackling wood of the burning home. Saw sat motionless, the charred corpse of his sister lying limp in his forelegs. Tears fell from his eyes against his will as he stared at her blackened face.
"Nails..." he said lowly, shaking her body gently.
No response.
"N-Nails..."
The home continued burning behind him.
"NAILS?!" he shouted, shaking the body savagely.
After still getting no response, he gently rested her head on the lawn, and moved away from the body.
"I love you too, sis'..." he said quietly.
Saw cleared his eyes for a moment, along with the twisted look of depression turning into a sinister scowl. He steadily returned to his hooves, stumbling to the left for a moment, but quickly recovering his balance. The pony's neck instinctively and slowly looked forward...
... At the shed.
The scowling unicorn stumbled forward towards the small red structure, his eyes twitching, and his mind running in one direction. Without hesitation, he threw open the doors to the shed, and stumbled inside. Directly in front of him, a few feet into the shed, was a large, brown, box, a large padlock sealing it shut. Saw continued limply walking towards the chest, his eyes twitching with more intensity. Losing his father before him was one thing. One thing that had taken years and years of therapy to forget. But now, seeing the three most important mares in his life taken in one night... Saw was dead. His mind, his emotions, his entire being was gone. In his place, was nothing more than a shell of a pony, wanting only to get revenge. A burning, infected pony stumbled into his house and lit it ablaze. Taken his whole life in the blink of an eye.
Upon reaching the chest, he looked at the padlock, still swaying back and forth. He raised his hoof, and slammed it down on the padlock once, then twice, then again, and again, and again. Until the lock snapped off and fell to the ground with a clang. The lid of the chest slammed against the wall of the shed as Saw viciously threw it open, revealing one of his inventions. An invention banned from every construction site in Equestria. He ripped the tool out of it's resting place, and brought it to a nearby table, a new-found swiftness in his step.
Another loud clang echoed throughout the shed as he slammed the device onto the metal work bench, along with his own right foreleg. With his magic, he lifted the device into the air, and began loosening the foreleg straps found along the side of it, a scowl still burned into his face. With quickness, he levitated the tool onto his right hoof, and tightened the straps until they were nearly cutting off his circulation.
Lifting the device into the air, he swung it a few times to admire and take note of the weight, before taking his left hoof, and reaching for the starter rope, and savagely pulling it.
A small engine strapped to his foreleg came to life with a loud and ghastly whir of gears. Protruding from the engine was a large metallic slab, covered in a chain that was lined with tiny, razor-sharp blades. AS his hoof squeezed the throttle of the device, the chain spun at a blurring speed, along with the loud roar of the device's engine. Saw nodded with a vicious smirk, and placed his right hoof on the floor, the end of the saw almost touching the ground.
"Perfect." he said quietly to himself.
After killing the engine, he left the small shed and approached the burnt corpse of his sister. He leaned down slowly, and planted a gently kiss on the filly's forehead, and patted her stomach once.
"I'ma' do you, Ham, and momma' proud. You hear me?" he said in a grim tone.
Saw stood back up, his final respects paid, and began walking towards the darkness outside of his property, praying that something would come his way.
