Strange Hooves

Run.

Mike makes his way between the hallways and corridors that were once something that resembled civilization, running and fighting. They were everywhere. They were hungry. They were pale. They were coming.

Running towards him, arms outstretched and reaching, the post-people are locked in a seemingly endless battle between them and Mike. He was not happy about the current situation.

The screaming. THE SCREAMING. The blood. THE BLOOD.

There is plenty of both, echoing off the walls or splattered on the walls. There is also the sound of gunfire. The smell of discharged weapons lingers in the air, as does the sickly scent of blood and decay and smoke from the many fires that were ravaging the city.

This is a nightmare. I know it. I’ll wake up soon, and I’ll go back to learning about programming. Yes.

Swinging his newfound sweetheart, a kukri, at the infec—crazies did some to stem the tide. He still ran, his lungs burning and his legs hurting. Running from all the infected he can, and where he couldn’t run, he introduced his new-found companions his closest asset, which they are slain with.

What did the news say about them? That’s right. They’re infected with a freak virus that happens to be rabies. For humans.

The warm equator was the first to go, what with the warm-ness that probably bred the thing in the first place. NO. THEY ARE NOT INFECTED. THEY ARE NOT ZOMBIES.

Shaking his head at the insanity of it all, he hardly notices when he hears voices calling for him. Running towards help, he gave a sigh of relief.

Maybe this madness is over. We’ll be evacuated, and the insanity will end.

The group was firing on the post-people, which escalated the conflict as more of them were drawn into the fight from far off by gunfire and the general noise they make when attacking normal people.  The attacks intensified, and the gunfire dwindled down to a few rifles. Then they ran out, and they were swarmed. Mike knew what happens next, so he took off again, running out of the building, and into the street, which, all things considered outside, was not an improvement. He sees the crazies outside notice him, and they rushed him from all directions, clambering over cars, diving out of windows, and running out of adjacent buildings all because of one man who dared to step outside. Mike readies his weapon…

===+===

And wakes up, breathing heavily, and with a cold sweat. It was the middle of the night, and he notices his improvement in health, but some stitches remain. He looked up from the covers to see a less familiar, orange face.

“You okay, Mike? You keep screaming and twisting and turning. I’m surprised you didn’t wake up half of Ponyville.”

Mike’s memories ebb back in, how he escaped with a little luck. How he grabbed everything he could before breaking for the woods. How he came here, to somewhere previously thought improbable.

“No. I’m sorry, Nurse. I just have these recurring nightmares. Before I came here, my race was dying violently, you see. I sometimes remember when I was forced to defend myself from a gruesome fate. I need… I don’t know.”

Mike grinds his teeth, holding his legs against his chest, shivering despite being perfectly warm.

“I just need water, is all. I’m safe. I’m safe. I’m safe I’m safeI’msafeI’msafe.”

The Nurse obliges him by going outside to get the drink.

Mike’s memories flash again through his eyes.

===+===

Cutting. Pushing. Biting. Punching. Kicking. Yelling. Anything. He did not know how he made it, but he did. Safe inside a warehouse, he begins to study his surroundings.

Boxes. Boxes everywhere. I need to rest.

The screaming from outside enters his mind as he runs yet again from the oncoming horde.

I need help.

He was tackled by one of them, who raises its head and says,

“Would you like some water, Mike?”

===+===

Pulled back into “reality”, Mike sees his benefactor with a cup being suspended with an orange glow.

“Thanks.”

Taking the glass and eagerly drinking the soothing contents, Mike gives back the glass to the pony and lays back down, feeling some unknown effect take hold on him.

“I added something to ease your mind, Mike. Don’t worry. It’ll be all right.” When Mike hears the last word, the powerful, magical sedative takes hold and he falls asleep again, potion soothing his thoughts.

That’ll help him, the poor thing.

Nurse Orange Chapstick adjusts the blankets, mattress, and pillow with her magic. She may not be a fully-fledged doctor, she still helps however she can. She steps out to let Mike recover.

===+===

Mike finds himself in a field of green, ringed by trees and hills covered in trees. He remembers this place. This was camp. The best place to be. He sits down on the grass and enjoys the view.

These were the best times of my life. Learning about nature, about myself… too bad the apocalypse happened.

As he was thinking, he heard something behind him. Turning back, he sees not a forest of green and rolling hills, but charred and burnt forests with the inhabitants coming at him. He slaps his leg, realizing his absent weapon. As he braces for the first to hit him, a bright white flash filled his mind with an audible horn. He opened his eyes again, only to see another fond childhood memory, a birthday party. Instead of hearing the screams of the post-human, he hears the delighted screams of party guests as he opened his presents to reveal some expensive toys that he always wanted. A tapping on the glass interrupts him, and he looks up to see a horde outside. They break in, and before anything else happened, his vision whited out again with another horn sound. This time, he was in a movie theater, with his family and friends to see the latest in multi-million-dollar sci-fi movies. The effects were great, and the story was very enjoyable, but he heard screams coming from the bottom of the theatre. Post-people were munching on the bottom rows. The strange phenomenon happened again, and he found himself in his home, playing his favorite online game. He paused for a moment, and then he resumed his online combat. Racking in the kills and the glory, Mike seemed to be having a very good day, hopefully to be filled with hats. Then the glass shattered and he was swarmed with crazies. Another white transaction later and Mike sees himself at a graduation. Before the baddies came again, Mike grabs his diploma and reaches into it, somehow pulling out his kukri. They come, and he fights them to the very end, but the phenomenon happens again, and Mike is on his hospital bed. Wondering if this wasn’t in fact another dream, he looks around to see what was around. He looks outside to see daylight. The door opens to admit Twilight Sparkle. Mike is sure this is real, but when he sees the all-too-familiar hunger in her eyes and a signature snarl on her face. He braces himself when she throws herself at him with a horrifying scream. The whiteout happens, but a bigger horn is heard this time.

===+===

Mike opens his eyes. Back on the hospital bed. He looks to his left, and then his right. He sees a very concerned Fluttershy hovering over him.

“Are you okay, Mikey?”

Mike is still breathing heavily from the onrush of sudden nightmares.

“Yes. Now I am.”

It was legitimately calming to see Fluttershy instead of that cannibalistic Twilight Sparkle.

“I just have these terrible nightmares that warp my sense of reality. I’m not sure if I’m even awake.”

Fluttershy hugs mike, slightly nuzzling him.

MYTH FREAKING CONFIRMED.

“Thanks. That helps so much more than you probably realize.”

“I love all my friends, and you are no exception, Mikey.”

There are no words that can describe how cute that is. *My heart.***

Mike hugs back with a very, very warm smile.

“I love you, too.”

Another voice is heard.

“Aww, isn’t that the cutest thing?”

Mike releases Fluttershy to see Twilight Sparkle in the doorway, just like in the dream. Unlike the dream, though, is how she instead comes in with a notebook and pad.

“I’d just like to ask you a few questions about yourself. Do you mind?”

Mike snaps out of his daze and responds.

“No, not at all. What do you need to know?”

“Well, let’s start off with those hands of yours.”

Mike holds up his hands, while Twilight inspects them and makes notes. She keeps flipping pages to a drawing of his hands that she’s been doodling. She reaches up and grabs them, feeling the bones inside.

Her pen is telekinetically controlled to take notes all this while, and once Twilight was satisfied, she goes on with another question, but is interrupted by an unnatural amount of confetti and strings flying through the air, accompanied by party noises and an excited Pinkie Pie.

“Who’s ready to party? Oh yeah, me! You’re officially welcomed to our ‘Welcome to Equestria’ Party, courtesy of me, Pinkie

Pie! Isn’t this going to be so exciting?! I’ve never been so excited like this since I saw Twilight here for the first time, but I mean, really, who could top that?!”

Mike’s expression changes from surprise to skeptical.

“Aren’t I injured, though?”

“Nope! They’re releasing you right now! They’ve got all those nasty-wasty stitches outta you, and now you get to go to my

party!!”

Doctor Stable, an earth pony whom coat colors reminds Mike of someone on television, comes into the room and, with an amused laugh, says,

“Yes, you’ve made a full recovery, though you have some marks on you that’ll last a long time.”

He gestures to a nearby mirror, which Mike has a peek at.

Now I get to have 3 really cool scars on my face. *Worth it.***

Mike reaches up to touch the right of his face and over his right eye, where a Beog had clawed him.

“Alright, everypony. I’m standing up.”

He shifts his weight as to have his feet access to the floor, and he steadies himself after a day and night of inactivity.

“Not so bad. Now, where is this party?”

Pinkie Pie nearly exploded with excitement as she grabbed Mike by the hand and dragged him out of the room, with Fluttershy and Twilight following.

“Thanks, doctor, for taking care of Mike for us!”

“No problem, Twilight.”

Mike has never seen Ponyville up close before, nor had he seen it quite so empty before. They make their way to Sugarcube Corner for Pinkie’s party, with exited Pinkie Pie, Twilight, and Fluttershy . They make a mad dash for the place, and inside, and they close the door. Mike walks over to the door, and politely knocks on it.

It opens slowly to admit Mike into a very darkened room. One fully inside, the door closes, and the lights are turned on with everypony in the room yelling “Surprise!” Mike has never seen so many ponies in one room. They must’ve tried to put all of Ponyville in here. Mike takes a look around the room.

So many smiles. So many faces.

Pinkie Pie appears in Mike’s face, wearing a party hat.

“Well, were you surprised? Huh? Huh? Huh?”

Mike sees this and asks a question.

“What’s the occasion?”

“Well, you’re new in Ponyville, and you just got better! Isn’t that something worth celebrating?”

Mike studies this for a while, and drops to his knees. Pinkie Pie asks

“You okay?”

To everyone’s surprise, Mike giggles uncontrollably.

“YES I’M FINE! Thanks, Pinkie!”

Then the party begins in earnest, the treats delightful, and the music, wonderful. So many ponies came to Mike to ask him a question, or to introduce themselves and welcome him to Ponyville, but one caught his eye. A certain green Unicorn was asking so many questions about him that her friend, who was an earth pony with a tan coat with purple-black hair, sort of dragged her off so that the next pony in line would greet him to Ponyville.

After a while, Mike notices some carefully wrapped boxes in the corner.

“What are those?”

Ever present, Pinkie Pie bounces up and down whilst answering his question.

“Those are your presents, silly! Now go open them!”

What could be in there?

Mike sits down next to the pile and opens his first present. It seems to be a short rectangle box. He opens that box, and sees what’s inside. It appears to be a brown custom longcoat made just for him, the colors and patterns too intricate to detail. Never clashing, but never dull.

“That’s a little something I made myself just recently.”

Rarity seems proud of herself, and as Mike slips it on over his jacket, he seems to be quite happy with it, too.

“Thanks, Rarity!”

Mike hugs Rarity, whom is a little embarrassed.

Pinkie Pie interrupts with,

“Open mine! Open mine!”

Mike lets go of Rarity and reaches for the pink present with tons of ribbons on it, obviously being from Pinkie Pie.  He opens it, bypassing all the ribbons on it, and is shocked by what he finds in there.

A plaque.

He holds it up, studying what’s engraved in the gold-wood wood award.

“To the bestest westest human Equestira has ever known! Mike Alpha!”

Tears unexpectedly form in his eyes, and he hugs Pinkie Pie, thanking her for this. Next comes Twilight Sparkle with some wrapped books in tow.

”I got these for you! Seeing as you’re new here, I thought I’d give you some reference guides to Equestria.”

Mike grabs the books and thanks Twilight with yet another hug. Twilight pulls away, and Fluttershy approaches behind Mike. She regrets not thinking of getting him anything, and so she doesn’t say anything.

“Thank you, Fluttershy, for saving my life. Twice.” Mike holds up two fingers.

“I guess I owe you two, then.”

“Oh, no. It was my pleasure. Besides, I never leave someone hurt.”

“And I’m very thankful.”

“Sugahcube?”

Mike turns around to see Applejack and Rainbow Dash behind him, slightly down, obviously remembering their clash.

“It’s okay. It was no problem. Nothing happened, remember?”

“We did get a little something for yeh.”

Rainbow Dash reaches for a sack of something on the table and presents it to Mike.

“We’ve set aside some bits for yeh. Hope it helps.”

Mike takes it with a “Thanks, this’ll help.”

Before Mike puts his gold away, Spike runs up to him and presents something to him.

THAT IS A GLORIOUS GREEN GEM.

“I guess this is a thank you for saving Twilight. I hope you like green!”

“Is my favorite color, actually. Thanks, little guy.”

He puts the gold and gem in his pocket and the party resumes.

Several hours later, Spike, Twilight, and Mike can be seen headed towards the library after dark.

“That was fun, wasn’t it, Mike?”

“It sure was, Twilight. I’ll have to read these, they look important.”

Suddenly, lighting strikes Mike. Several times. Twilight Sparkle and Spike look up to see a familiar, wall-eyed friend in a storm cloud above.

“My bad!”

Mike is on his knees, with eyes closed, obviously hurt.

I sense something. Something that’s always been there before. Like a muscle that’s never been used, or an eye never opened.

He flexes this new ability, and the wind picks up around the ponies and the visitor. He rises into the air without any magical help from Twilight, obviously focosuing on something with eyes closed. A white flash, and there is a dark-green field of energy surrounding Mike. He opens his eyes, and the mares and dragon gasp. His eyes were glowing.