Devil in the Dust

In the middle of the dead, a structure tends to stand out. Even if it is dead, black and spiked like some kind of giant warning sign. It screams "You're not alone!" "There are others here!" and to some funny people who need better hobbies "Oh look, victims!". Guess what group our first visitors fell into? Kindly neighbors? No. Back of the room. Go on, shuffle back. There we go.

We had hoped that nearer the coast would be some kind of edible food. Something of substance. We had hoped we would find others like us so we could build some kind of gatherer settlement. Work together, build a boat, leave. We had hoped that the coast would be better. It wasn't.

I awoke one morning with an unfamiliar hoof to my throat. The pony that it was connected to was a light purple with more scars than I'd ever seen on anything else. No mane on this one, only a ragged tail stained beyond all original colour by dust and mud.

"We got an alive one, Skip." she called. Yup, female voice. I think. She flapped what looked like decrepit and plucked wings on her back. Must be one of those flying ones I saw on the poster.

There was a muffled response from outside, shortly cut off by a muffled crack of hoof on bone. More noises came in from outside, frantic screams, terrified cries for help and that sound again, over and over. The mare in the hut with me froze as outside became deathly silent.

I took the opportunity to break a rib of hers. Grab by the wing, deliver punch to weakened and malnourished ribcage. Simple as that. I know some of you are squeamish about fighting and violence, so I'll skip over this part too. Let's just say I had to replace one of the weight rocks we keep inside to keep the floor down, and that the weak, underfed, terrified, easily overpowered and already broken pegasus got a killer headache and had to lie down. On that rock. Repeatedly.

I raced outside as soon as I was clear. to find... Sturdy forcing the little one to wash her mouth out. He caught me looking and flickered his eyes over to the side of the house.

"Oh. There were three larger ones. Good to know." I just stared for a while before continuing "Wait, that's that on their necks? How did..?"
"This is why the young changeling is washing her mouth."
"Oh. Cratette, make sure you get everywhere. Gargle and stuff. That's gross."
Crater shrunk on the spot as if chastised.
"Oh, uh," I faltered. Well, if this was the law of the land, then "Good work, though. I only got one." The little one knows how to beam, she really does. She's still not getting anything resembling a hug until that mess is off her muzzle.

Hang on. Marks on the neck. Crater has teeth like mine.

"Sturdy?"
"Yes?"
"Do these teeth remind you of anything?" I pointed to my sharper pointy teeth.
"Wolves."
"And wolves...eat ponies?"
"If they can catch them, what are you- No."
"I can."
"You will not."
"It's wasteful. You know we don't leave food."
"You will not."
"Gaff, you burn things. I can eat what I like."
"You will be sick."
"And if I'm not?"
"You will be. Regardless, I will not participate in this."
"Love you too, brother."

That stopped him in his tracks. He froze. I meant it as a throwaway statement, but he took it like a shot to the heart. He stood very still for a little while, then walked off. He later returned with firewood as I was throwing the...sleeping...guest out of our nice and dry home and Crater was playing around in the blood. Mud. Mud is what I said.

"We do not waste food."
"Thanks, bro."
"Stop calling me that."

I told you you wouldn't like how I survived. I think I started this tale with that little warning. No, I won't tell you what you taste like. It's nothing flash, believe me. You may now take a moment to be sick. Yes, over in the other room. There are buckets prepared for you in the corner if you can't make the other room.

To make you feel better, that night was rough. The dreams. I dreamed of flight. The joys of soaring through the skies without limit or cares. To see the ground fade away beneath me and it all felt to real. My name was Farrow Yard. I loved life and most of all I loved...wait, no. That wasn't me. I'm Ayre. Ayre the something unusual. After I knew that, I knew this was not my dream. It was her last. I took my place outside of her form and watched her gallivant through the skies. I turned to the large indigo being next to me.

"This is her last flight, isn't it."
"Yes."
"It's a good one."
"We disagree. It would be better if she had may more to look forward too."
"But she doesn't. Who are you, friend?"
"We are Princess Luna, and we are not your friend, Exile. You are a murderer and a cannibal."
"Might want to look at me, Princess."
"Oh. You are still a murderer and Exile."
"I kinda appeared on the surface one day. Near the big red rock."
"You are still a murderer and we will formally exile you when we awake."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Look, I want to talk to Celestia."
"Your request is denied."
"You didn't even ask what about."
"We do not care."
"Charming. Your country has been dropping convicts into mine. That needs to stop."
"Your country?"
"Yes, my country. I'm, uh, the...Red...King. Yes. The Red King. Of Austrais."
"Australis?"
"My country, my name."
"I have seen you, 'Red King Ayre of Tartarus'," I swear she can pronounce the quotation marks "and you have nothing. What can you possibly do to overthrow us?"
"I don't plan to overthrow you. I'm just taking my country back. We can have trade agreements and alliances and all that lovely diplomacy."
"We own you."
"Aaaand there goes the alliance. Good talking to you, Princess whatever. Send your sister whenever you want to be serious."

I had nightmares for the rest of the week. Crushing deaths, horrors beyond counting. Lost loves turning to me with sickly smiles and ripping my heart out and earing it. Crater grown huge, tearing the emotions from my walking husk and forging them into a replica of me who was superior in every way as I blew to dust. And every dream ended with an image of sunrise over the Heart. Horrors, yes. But hopeless? Tell her she's dreaming.

Now, the next day we went exploring. If there's one thing Sturdy told me about ponies it's that they stick together. The herd survives what the single cannot. Makes a certain kind of sense. We found them afraid. Very, very afraid. There were dozens, maybe a hundred. Weak. Scrawny. A few had dropped dead from hunger and terror as they watched us, unmoving. Some had foals with them.

Two things unified the mishmash of equine. Not the coat or mane colours, no, these were a dozen different colours to every square meter. Not the age, there were some here that looked ancient, and some that were just born. Two things. The dust that covered each and every one, catching the light like blood and painting a hopeless sanguine pattern across the throng. And the despair. Every set of eyes wore it heavily. You know that sparkle in a ponys eyes that shimmers like sunshine? Not even a hint of it. Just blank faces.

I thought they would run. They didn't. I waked over to one of them, what would have been a yellow and brown colt if not for the reds that marked him exile. He didn't as much as flinch when I touched him on the haunch. Just stared forward.

"They want to die." I breathed aloud. "No."

I looked around for a large rock, a fallen log, something. A stump sufficed.

"Ponies. Stallions, mares and foals! I have something to tell you, so you better bloody listen. I am the Red King, and do you know what that means!?"

They were looking at me now, awaiting the promise of their death. Sturdy fixed me with a look and mouthed "Red King?". I ignored him before he ruined my fun.

"It means..." I paused for effect before bellowing "YOU WILL NOT DIE HERE!"

NOW they were paying attention.

"I refuse to die here. These two refused to die here." I gestured to a grumbling Gaffer and a bashfully hiding in herself Crater "And so will you. There's no speech that will give you back your will to live, but by the gods I am going to try, SO! You are alive! We're going to keep it that way! You know why? Because Luna is a giant horse who needs a bit to shut her up and we are going to BE that bit! Every day we survive, be it out of spite or the realisation that yes, we can live in this waste is another day she is proven wrong! We were sent here to die. You know that. I know that. Screw that! We died already."

They mumbled amongst themselves as I let them work each other up a little.

"You see the blood on yourselves? The red that marks each and every one of us? That's where you died." I knelt down in front of the now attentive yellow and brown colt in front of my stump. "Who were you?"
"I am..."
"No, who WERE you?"
"I was...Bright Draft, I was an alchemist."
"Good." I dusted the red dust off his coat. Some still remained, forever staining patches of his coat a crimson red. "And who are you now?"
"Bright-" I slapped him, cutting off his dumb-ass statement.
"No, you WERE Bright Draft, Alchemist. You are now..?" I gestured for him to carry on.
"I am... Noble...Draft? I'm not good with na-"
"Ponies! This is Noble Draft. He's not good with names and he's probably still an alchemist. Do you know what else he is? He is FREE!"

I jumped back on the stump. "Now, what were your names?"
They murmured again.
"I'm sorry, I didn't say murmur if you want to be free, I said SHOUT IT! WHO WERE YOU!?"
That got them going. The crowd erupted into shouts. Bright happy names with bright happy jobs soon to be stripped bright happy away from their bright happy pasts.
"And who are you NOW!?"

Have you ever seen a crowd cheer their own names? Seen hope flame, not a shine not a shimmer but a furnace? Felt the hope rise like a physical force enough to almost lift you off the ground? I have and it's brilliant. Absolutely wonderful.

"SO! Now that you are free, what are you going to do?"
"LIVE."
"What's that?"
"LIVE."
"ONCE MORE!"
"LIVE! LIVE! LIVE! LIVE!"

They're a good bunch.

"Someone find me a name, because we are going to need one for ourselves! Oh wait. I haven't told you MY name! How silly of me. I am Ayre, the Red King! I made that name up on the spot to sound important in front of the blue princess, and I like how it sounds so I'm keeping it! Anything have a problem with that!?"
"NO!"
"Good. We're going to build a town. And we're going to farm. The rain is going to bring in the water we need and I'm going to bloody try to find something to stand in for sunlight. Whatever happens, we're going to bloody LIVE!"

They cheered. They chanted the name of Ayre and the Red King. They started with nothing and now they had nothing to lose and everything to gain.

"Ayre."
"Sturdy."
"You know we have no way to substitute sunlight."
"We've survived the impossible before."
"That was different. I carried you."
"Yes you did. Now I can carry these ponies. Besides, I'm going to need you before long."
"This ground is hard and dry. There has been no rain here."
"Oh?" I smirked, taking a step back. "I think that's going to change."
"Yes?"
"You know how wherever we go it seems to rain every few sleeps?"
"Indeed."
"And you know how it has been a few sleeps since we arrived here?"
"What is your-"

The rumbling of the sky cut him off. The crowd of ponies milling about looked up. I looked up. The storm was roiling again, lashes of thunder the harbinger of the rain's bounty. Lightning flashed in twin arcs, circling the assembled mass. They looked familiar. Some of the ponies in the crowd pointed up at them and whispered something. I missed it in the thunder, but their eyes flickered between the two bolts to Sturdy and myself. Interesting. The rain began to tap against the dry earth, beginning the song that would herald the new age of Tartarus.

"Did you time this?" he smiled through his fake disappointed tone.
"Maybe." I grinned. "Well, now we just have to do something about the sunlight."