Chapter 3
We arrived at their town and I was disheartened to see that so many of the brightly colored creatures were present. I was wondering whose smart idea it was to tell them about me showing up, then again it would be better to get it all done with right off the bat. Oh joy. We got out of the carriage and there were so many dramatic gasps I couldn't help but smile at it. Then came the many whispers which consisted of: 'wow its tall'; 'what is that thing over its shoulder'; 'what strange clothing'; and so on with different worded yet same remarks or just different things to say.
"Wow, ponies must have come from all over to see you," gasped Twilight and with that things went downhill, or maybe uphill depending on your thinking. I played meet and greet with easily over 400 of these ponies and by the 300 mark I was getting pretty tired and wanting them all to leave me alone. That wouldn't have left a good impression though so I smiled and said hello and told them that I was human and then pushed them on and told the next one the same damn thing.
After what had to have been at least three hours the six heroes of pony-fucking-kind and I arrived at Twilights tree house library. Sighing I swing my rifle off my shoulders with the bag shortly following. Moving over to the table in the center I set the items down and kneel in front of the table. Taking out my cleaning kits for the rifle and pistols, I take apart the rifle first. I had started off with an older version of the M16 when I was first recruited into the military but the process looked no different for this one and I wasn't disappointed. I had the rifle apart in less than two minutes with a rod and cleaning patch going down the barrel.
I finished the rifle and reassembled it but this would be the easiest firearm to clean. The .45 had six or seven mags through it before I got here. No big problem but it also appeared that it had been thrown in mud and sat there for almost a week, same thing with my .357 which had been reloaded eight times with speed loaders. So sixty to seventy rounds through the .45 and forty-eight rounds through the revolver. So yeah they were filthy and they would be a bitch to clean. I grip the slide of the handgun and pull and was met with more resistance than there should have been.
"Well fuck," the words were out of my mouth without thinking about the brightly colored creatures that were probably still in the room. Well screw it I don't care enough, at least not when I'm tired and have dirt caked guns to clean. I pull my music tablet out and start going through the music on it. Picking out five songs and two albums for my listening pleasure I push play.
I still hadn't managed to get the bloody slide off when the first song ended and it was starting to piss me off. Sure I had another gun I could work on but the revolver was going to be probably more of a bitch than this one. One of the Albums started to play and I went back at it with a scowl on my face.
Two and a half hours later the pistols were finally done and cleaned, even better there was no rust what so ever on them. What really surprised me though when I actually came back to earth from my cleaning was that all six of the ponies were still sitting there watching me. Suddenly I was quite uncomfortable.
"What," I ask, I mean it was weird. No normal people… Richard these aren't human, they're ponies. You have to start getting this shit straight.
"So you're done with your… things," asked Fluttershy. It was a bit cute with how shy she was but the huge ass eyes were disconcerting. They showed too much emotion.
"Yeah-," that was as far as I got before the pink one jumped up and shouted that it was sleep over time. Someone shoot me. "Oh yay. Sleep over time," sadly it seemed that the pink was the only one that noticed that my reaction was less than excited but she shrugged it off. This all must have been decided and had been prepared for, while I was off in gaga land swearing at my guns and listening to my music. It used to be funny when the soldiers would keep doing things to see what they could get away with while I was cleaning. Shit I missed home.
"So first thing is makeovers," stated Rarity which for the most part was greeted with cheers except for me, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack.
"I'm not going to do a makeover, men don't do that where I'm from," and if they did they would have been called gay and probably shot. Funny thing actually, before it all went to hell gays were an accepted part of the community. Marriage, rights, and well just whatever. When it all went to shit then the old bigots came back out and they were in some areas hunted. "Anyway I would like to take a shower. Those guns were caked in dirt." Twilight points me toward a door which I proceed toward after grabbing my bag. After taking out body wash and stripping my clothing I step into the shower though it was actually a tub. It made sense because of how short they were but still it was awkward for me. After ten minutes I step out, put on fresh clothing which was composed of a short sleeve shirt with my old platoon's emblem, and a pair of levis. With my hair still damp I walk out to see that all six ponies, even Rainbow Dash, had those face mud mask things going on. Whenever I saw a human doing that I felt like slamming their head into something. Were in a living hell on earth and you are worried about keeping your looks. Made me sick.
"Howdy partner," exclaimed Applejack and Rainbow looked relieved that I had shown up. They were probably hoping that I would get them out of their makeover.
"Take your time, it's a sleepover right. These things go far into the night right," I ask hoping that the answer was a yes just so that I could see the tomboy and the farmer be so feminine. Honestly it didn't surprise me now that the tank crewmembers tablet had them on it as a couple. Speaking of those two the looks they gave me could kill, which was actually quite cute.
"Well we were going to play truth or dare next," said Twilight as a bottle appeared seemingly out of thin air. Fuck it there are talking ponies.
"I'd rather not play," this was answered with many groans and disagreement, "However I will answer a single question from each of you. You'll probably get more info this way instead of me playing." Rainbow looked disappointed but Twilight seemed to agree.
"Well, do all of your kind wear clothing all the time darling," I honestly thought that Twilight would of gotten the first one but instead it was Rarity.
"Yes we do, for multiple reasons. One of which is decency, another is protection from the environment," I was met with looks from the decency one but they at least seem to understand the protection. "Next question."
"Do you have apple orchards where you from," asked Applejack. From the looks the others gave her I wasn't the only one who thought the question was wasted.
"Yeah, we have apple orchards in some areas. Not very many though, but it seems like we have generally the same fruits and vegetables," the farmer seemed happy with my answer which made me think: what the fuck.
"What type of animal friends do you have, if you don't mind answering," asked Fluttershy. Actually Applejack's question didn't seem so odd or stupid because that was some information on the human diet.
"Well if you mean pets that would have to be dogs. I like cats but they can't save you. From what I have seen the animals are the same, which is weird since you are the dominant life form like mine is yet we have the same types of animals," my answer was jumbled but they got what I meant. This did however raise the question of whether or not this place just went down a different yet not quite so extreme evolutionary track, that is of course if you think talking ponies who can fly and use magic isn't extreme.
"Ooo-ooo my turn, so do you have parties," Pinkie Pie nearly burst my eardrums and this question was useless… maybe not. I have no idea what Twilight would be interested in knowing or what the Princesses would want to know.
"No, not really. At least not for… years," Pinkie Pie looked pretty sad by that answer, "but when we did we were the loudest, rowdiest bunch of guys. I think one time we actually got another platoon to come over with their weapons because they thought we were being attacked or something. I can't remember, first time I had alcohol… never again am I drinking that much… ever." This last part was to myself but it seemed to perk her up so at least that was something.
"So can any of you fly," this question wasn't really that surprising but I had higher hopes that it wouldn't have something to do with herself. Then again Rainbow Dash seemed to be full of herself so maybe I shouldn't have been too surprised.
"We need a machine to do that. Airplanes we call them. There are a lot of different types. There's the kind that transport people, the kind that blows stuff up, and then there is the kind that do both. There is also helicopters that kind do the same thing they just function different. The airplanes though could go extremely fast. In fact there was one that could break the sound barrier three times and almost go into space. We never used them though, they came before it all went to hell." I really should stop swearing and saying hell. I didn't want to explain what those words meant and I sure as hell didn't want to explain religion. That possibly fucked the human race more than the actual Dark did with all the psycho cults popping up.
"That is so cool," Dash exclaimed.
"Why are you so accomplished in fighting," Twilight asked and I didn't get what she meant exactly. Accomplished at fighting. Yeah maybe with the knife and few could match me when it came to pistols but as for anything else forget it.
"How do you mean," I ask.
"Well you fought really well, so well that it seems that your kind were fighting before this Darkness came about, you did get training right," she elaborated. This made me pause, not sure how to answer this. She had a point but at the same time if humans hadn't been tearing each other apart for years we wouldn't of lasted a week.
"Honestly I don't have a good reason. My kind fought a lot, so much in fact that according to my father it was almost a normal thing. My father didn't like all the wars and he told me that most of them stemmed from difference in opinions, ethnicity, and the fact that some countries wouldn't leave others alone. They would try and get involved in affairs that didn't really concern them. Stupid reasons for a largely stupid species. For me though, it was a natural thing, I'm a natural fighter. I just caught the hang of using pistols after my father taught me and as for the knife… well like I said I'm a natural fighter. Anyway, Dash do some good dares for me."
While I didn't learn anything interesting about them Applejack did have to stand on her head for about ten minutes and twilight had to grow an actual beard. That shit is freaky, but mine was still better even if it was only slightly more than scruff.
"Scary story time," yelled the ever perpetually happy pink pony. Scary story time huh. Well this should be interesting to see what kind of "horror" they have here but considering that this was the land of happy and colorful ponies I didn't have high hopes. "I'll go first." She then proceeded to tell a story of a haunted oven that made bad cupcakes. Yeah that was scary alright, especially when the heroin threw a party for the oven which made it start baking good cupcakes.
"Well that was quite interesting Pinkie, but I got a better one," oh the competiveness in Rainbow Dash's voice made me cringe. Competition isn't bad but it can also go too far. I ended up zoning out leading to only hearing small snippets of her story. I think it had something to do with beating a bunch of ghosts. I don't know, something along those lines. It didn't sound scary but I could be wrong, after all Fluttershy was practically cowering. Next was Rarity with another ghost story I didn't bother listening to, then applejack with one about a pony who stalked mares which was absolutely ridiculous since you don't need to sneak to a pony's bathroom window to see one naked. Finally it reached Twilight who started a story about Windigos. Foul creatures that are attracted to, well I guess a lesser form of hate. These ponies don't know what hate is but, yeah Windigos were attracted to hate and caused everything to freeze.
"How about you sugarcube, got any good stories," asked Applejack which was greeted with a large amount of agreement and encouragement. Alright than I would tell them a story but which one. Obviously Fluttershy was hoping for something that wasn't scary while the others were clearly hoping for one. Should I go for The Thing or maybe something not quite as bad? Cirque Du Freak maybe, that isn't exactly scary but maybe they would like it.
"I bet you have some cool stories being a captain and all," said Rainbow Dash and damn that pony because the agreement was even greater for this suggestion than Applejacks.
"I don't know, I-," that was it before the disapproval came sweeping down on me like an eagle. "Alright, alright I'll tell all of ya a story, just calm down and let me think." The only problem was that the only happy stories were of my childhood, before I was ten. Those were not very interesting because, well they just were not interesting. It was mostly learning math, English and whatever else they thought important. Of course I learned how to shoot a gun when I was eight and my father had called me a natural. Then my thoughts drifted toward Joseph "Cide" "Alright I got one but if you do not like it tell me and mind you this was before I joined the military."
The blackened ground was covered in a thin sheet of frost that crinkled when we walked across it. The older man walking next to me stopped and looked behind us, toward the direction of Elko, Nevada. Well what had been Elko, it wasn't much more than smoking ruble now. The broken windows and blackened hollowed out buildings a reminder not to cross Joseph aka "Cide". Following the man and his small band of killers was easy, the hard part was actually catching up to him. The man was like smoke. We could surround him, kill over half of his men but somehow he will just slip by. Actually that was something that the man looking back at Elko and Cide had in common. They were both like smoke, both could slip out of just about anything, and both would cut your throat if crossed, hell maybe even if you looked at them wrong. Only difference was that the man, Jason, would give you a "fighting" chance. Not much of a chance when the man could kill a bear with nothing but his ten inch, stainless steel knife that was strapped to his leg.
"We aren't taking him alive Richard. Fuck the bounty. We're going to kill him slow," when Jason says he is going to do something, it will be done and God help anyone who gets in the way. He turns back toward me and we start forward once again about a day behind the mass murderer. We walked for hours hoping that we would catch some sight of the man we were hunting but were having no luck.
Eventually we come across a barn that had somehow survived the harshness of the land. The paint on it was nearly gone and in the few splotches that were still there, they were faded so much that the best I could come up with was that it might have been red, or it may have been brown. Hell purple even. We approached the front doors and Jason grabbed the handle on the left one and I grabbed the right and we pulled in unison instantly drawing out pistols in case there was something inside but there wasn't anything except for dust and the strong smell of rot. I look to Jason and he shrugs and walks in looking around to see if it was safe enough for us to even stay the night.
"It's safe enough. Close the doors," small stiff sentences was how he talked and at first I wasn't sure if I liked it, hell still don't but it didn't draw the same reaction it once had. The feeling of unease. We set up our sleeping mats and start a small fire that brought comfort and dispelled some of the cold and melancholy. We stay like this for a few minutes when he speaks again. "Stand and prepare yourself," that such a simple command but those words made me instantly remember all of the training fights we had gone through. How sore and battered my body would get after some of them, the welts and bruises that would form. I grab the small bag I had and picked out the seven inch "knife". It was nothing more than a piece of wood that was shaped like a knife but they would still hurt if pressed hard enough against your skin, pushed into your stomach or back hard enough, it could leave those welts and bruises for days. He pulls out a red spray paint can and coats the "knife" with it along with a twin of mine that he used.
"Four hits on me. One hit on you." His logic was that if I could land four hits on someone without them landing a single one on me than I was good. We both go into a shallow crouch waiting for the other to make a move. I had learned long ago that launching the first attack on a human was a mistake. You wait for them to make the first move, which most of the time he would; however this could take up to hours and sometimes he would simply put his wooden knife away and we wouldn't have a practice fight. The point of the wait was to build patience. Never rush into a fight if it can be helped but when you're in one give it your all and don't hold anything back. Well Jason jumped right into it. No waiting, just launched into a flurry of slashes and stabs causing me to stumble back and hopefully out of the way of his ferocity.
He kept coming so I launch myself into a role to my right with the knife raised in a reversed grip. I was breathing heavier than I had been which was embarrassing when Jason wasn't breathing hard, in fact he acted like he hadn't moved an inch. I changed my grip so the blade was facing forward and slid into a smaller crouch than I had been in previously. With five feet between us we waited for the other one to make a move. After five minutes he charged forward again only this time I didn't panic, instead I kept my cool and let him slowly push me back. His flurry of attacks were too fast for me to counter on any of them. It was beautiful in a destructive force kind of way.
You may think that it is a bad idea to twirl around to do a slash and normally your right but at the same time you can add so much more force with the extra movement. It's all about timing, knowing your opponent, speed, and ferocity. Jason had all four but when he faced forward from a twirl his arms were stretched too far out giving me a small window of opportunity. Now most people wouldn't have noticed this opening, and if they did they most likely wouldn't have taken it. I did and stepped forward quickly moving my left hand to block his knife arm while striking out with my right. I felt for a quarter of a second the knife making contact, and hard contact at that before he moved himself back out of my reach.
He had a small amount of red paint right above where his ribs would have started. The stab would have hit his large intestine or stomach so while it wouldn't have killed him outright it would cause large amounts of pain and bleeding. Without proper medical care he would die. We were both obviously surprised and I didn't think Jason could be surprised by anything. This was the first time I had left a mark on him and a good one at that. Despite all of the training I had never come close to touching him. I was a natural with small arms and knives but this man had put me to shame every time and I had finally left a mark without receiving one myself. Of course he charges me again even harder going all out. He practically tackles me shoving his knife painfully hard against ribs and twisting my knife hand trying to make me drop it but could not. I had technically lost but I fight back trying to buck him off me but to no avail.
"Well there's a first time for everything. Next time follow up. Don't sit and think."
"Yes sir," my response was a bit breathless. He stands then pulls me off the floor and we walk over to where the fire was and sat. He pulls out a pot and opens a can of some soup. I stare into the flames while he prepares the meal.
"Are you still having those nightmares?"
"Yeah, sometimes." It was more than sometimes. The nightmares plagued my sleep almost every night and Jason knew it but he also didn't push it for which I was thankful for.
"What are they about?" This caught me off guard. While I had been with Jason for almost three months now he never showed much interest in me. In fact the only reason I was with him was because of a debt. Two and a half months ago I was being hunted by a group of runners, they get into herds or groups, which in turn were being hunted by Jason. Of course I didn't know this. Well they cornered me in a room at a shitty single level motel and rushed me. I got four of the ten with a knife since my guns were empty of ammunition. After grabbing me they were about to dig into their meal but a man no more than 5'8 ran in slicing off limbs with a foot long machete. They were all killed in less than three seconds and I was about shitting myself. Instead of killing me he grabs me by my collar and threw me out of the room. I honestly thought he was going to do something besides killing me with the machete but instead throws a bag at me and points in a direction. I start walking with him following close behind. Long story short we arrived in a small outpost where he turned in a bounty on the runners and tells me that I would be working for him until I paid him off for saving my ass. The training had started a couple days after that and four bounties later we were in a barn waiting for daylight to continue our hunt for Joseph.
"My parents. They were killed a few years back at an outpost in Oklahoma. I got away with a few other people but they didn't," my voice was fairly void of emotion.
"People or Dark."
"People," it's always people. The Dark does a lot of damage but in a way they fit the Zombie stereotype. Cause the apocalypse then kinda become secondary to the threat of other people. "I don't want your sympathy Jason. I hate it." He nods his head and looks at me, almost seeming to be sizing me up.
"Your age?"
"Seventeen, listen why are you asking me this," I ask, slightly concerned at the attention. He didn't show concern and sure as hell didn't care about other people or their feelings. Hell I hadn't done much of anything for him to be interested in me.
"Just questions," always for the short responses. "Eat then let's sleep." We did just that.
"Now I thought ya said that ya were a natural, so what's this trainin business," asked Applejack with a semi confused look on her face.
"I am. You have no idea how hard it is to kill another creature that is bent on ripping your head off and using your guts for streamers. I killed four the day Jason found me, with a knife. Most people don't do that with a gun. They get scared and they freeze. Worst thing you can do is freeze. I do not freeze, I move. It might not always be in the best direction but there is always movement. That is what divides people like me from people like, well like Fluttershy. She will never kill someone. For me it is almost become second nature by now. Extra training never hurts though." This was not real to them, I could see it in their eyes. They do not understand the concept of killing, of death other than what is a natural one. I wish people were as resealent as they were considering that they were in the middle of a fight. Maybe Luna did something to them so they could not see or hear.
"It's everpony, somepony, nopony, I have no idea where people come from," said Pinkie Pie.
"No. I take it you want me to continue?" A resounding yes filled the air. Great.
"Add more detail though," shouted an excited Rainbow Dash. I had left out any mention of my parents. Okay I would add more detail, unless it concerned my parents or something I would much rather keep to myself.
"Cute," I said.
"Cute," asked Jason?
"Yeah, you know runner with a pickaxe in its spine in the arms of one of Cide's men who is missing half his head. It's just so damn cute." He simply shakes his head and moves further into the house. It was a two floor home, most if not all of the windows broken and the paint faded. Dust was thick, or was thick where there were not footsteps which there was many.
"What happened," asked Jason? This was one of the things that he did if we came to a scene of violence "what happened".
"Looks like a runner came out of there," I point to a doorway directly across from the bodies, "and the runner got his teeth into this poor fuck. One of his friends drove a pickaxe in its spine mostly likely killing it instantly. Finally someone, probably Cide himself, shot no face in the face." Damn I'm snarky in the morning. I lean a bit closer seeing that the blood and brains of this man had reached more than five feet down the hall. "Well do you want to check upstairs or shall I."
"You." I nod and walk to the end of the hall, turn around, and started up the stairs which creaked and groaned loudly. I went up slowly and making sure the step would take my weight before going up. There were only two doorways up here one of which was closed. I pull the five inch knife on my belt out along with the .45 on my left hip. I slowly make my way to the open door staying close to the opposite wall. I came to the doorway and looked in. I didn't see anything so I make my way inside checking my corners but the room was empty. Most of the carpet had been eaten away with time and various bugs. The walls had stains and holes in them. The room smelled of decay and had obviously hadn't been properly ventilated for some time.
I leave the room and to stand in front of the closed door. I crossed my wrists so that the blade was underneath the gun then I move my right leg back only to bring it up and forward toward the door. The middle of it giving way to my boot… and I was stuck. Instead of kicking the door off its hinges like in some of the old movies that I had watched my foot went through the door. I jerk my leg back only that did not work so instead I move my leg forward and straighten my foot. This worked but I almost regretted it as a strong horrible smell came through the door.
I grab the door handle and push which only caused the smell to intensify. I quickly grab my shirt and pull it over my mouth and nose hoping that it would block some of the smell. Proceeding into the room my eyes started to water at the intense smell of decomposing bodies. I check my right first seeing nothing then turn to my left and instantly pulled my shirt down and puked everything onto the floor. My body reeled back into the hallway with vomit still coming out of my mouth and nose albeit more of a trickle than a flood.
I felt strong hand grab me under the armpits and heave me down some stairs and outside, the fresh air exhilarating. The air could not shake what I had seen though. The bodies of three children… the oldest could not have been more than eight from the size, their old dried blood covering almost the entire back wall and most of the floor. All three bodies had been tied up and each had a massive hole where the face should have been. One had an extra hole in the stomach. A fourth body was leaning against the wall, the physique of a grown male. There was a shotgun laying on the floor next to the headless body, the decomposing toe still in the trigger guard. The bodies were not older than a couple of weeks.
"Richard take deep breaths and look at me," the longest sentence I had heard Jason say and in the gentlest one as well. I look up at him seeing what could possibly be considered concern in his dark brown eyes.
"Why. I know humans are beasts but that… that... for fucks sake they were children and he just shot all three of them."
"The Dark should have been quicker. Finished us off. Instead it gave us enough time to revert back to what were naturally are. Every man is an animal. Some of us have beasts and there are different kinds. Some of them don't hide. Just out in the open for all to see. Then you have the kind like us, Richard. The ones that can hide it. Sometimes we lose control. We're more dangerous than the normal rabble because our beasts... monsters think. They're not mindless and just want to kill. Our instinct takes over, our primal sides. We are the kind of men that use their monsters to turn off everything and just let go and kill.
"I am exhausted. I will finish this at another time, maybe tomorrow night if you all want me too," I say as I raise and stretch feeling my back pop in several places.
"What did Jason mean exactly," asked Twilight.
"I think he meant that everyone has the ability to do bad. We all have monsters in us. Some just don't hide it, while others can. That some will never face that beast in them," I answer. I hadn't told them exactly what he told me, but an abridged version.
"Hav, have you faced it," asked Fluttershy in a scared voice. I never cared what others thought of me. Whether they feared and hated me or praised my name. Admittedly it was more of the former, but hearing it come from her hurt.
"I have come close a few times, but never has it come out. Good night." I walk over to my bag and pull out a sleeping mat and a pillow. I would need to purchase a new one soon. I roll the mat out on the other side of the room and laid down with my back facing them. I let sleep take me over while thoughts of my own monster invaded my head.
