To Whom It May Concern

by Wheller

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Derpy Hooves and Graham Cracker trotted at a fair pace through the ruins of the Divide. Derpy found herself looking around, incredibly confused at the situation that she was in. She had known that there were two settlements in the Divide, Hopeton and Ashville... yet they seemed to have been built on the ruins of a third. One that looked incredibly old.

“Graham Cracker?” Derpy asked as they trotted along. “I don’t understand...”

“Please, no need to be so formal, call me Graham,” Graham said simply. “The ruins were here when we got to this canyon five years ago... as were the residents of Hopeton. We used our knowledge to build a new city, clearing the way of the old; the Divide would become our Maneaan. The land promised to us by God. Hopeton is a town of scavengers, raiders; they don’t know how to survive on their own. So they pillage the past, and they steal from us to live. We are not exactly sure what happened here, or what became of those who lived here before, but the ruins are at least a thousand years old.”

Derpy was shocked at such information. She could hardly believe that buildings so old were still standing at all, considering the age of everything around them.

“Hold up,” Graham said as he stopped short. He looked around and addressed the open air. “In him was life, and that life was the light of ponies.”

Derpy looked at Graham with confusion, and nearly leapt into the air when a response came back.

“The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.”

Out of their hiding places, nearly a dozen ponies appeared, each of them dressed simply. Yet, unlike the ponies of Hopeton, the nephites were clean, and didn’t smell so horrid, but probably the most important thing about the nephites was that all of them were wearing Schäferhund storm harnesses with a variety of rifles, submachine guns, and pistols attached to them.

“Graham! Good to see you again!” the pony whose voice matched the response that Graham had asked for said. “We feared the worst when you did not return!”

“I escaped my bondage just at the right time, and freed another from hers,” Graham said, looking at Derpy and smiling at her with his eyes. “Everypony? This is Derpy Hooves; she is a package courier with Pony Express.”

The pony who Graham had been speaking with extended a hoof towards Derpy. “Pleasure to meet you, I’m Bishop Hoof,” Hoof said with a smile. Derpy looked him over. Bishop Hoof was an older looking stallion, his coat of crimson stuck out among the bleak ruined background of the Divide, much like his chestnut mane stuck out against him. His eyes were blue, not unlike Graham’s, but somewhat darker. Derpy couldn’t help but notice that the Bishop did not have a cutie mark. As a matter of fact, when she looked around at the rest of the nephites, none of them did.

Derpy looked back at Graham. The place where his cutie mark should have been was covered by bandages, so she had never really thought to ask about it.

“It’s nice to meet you Bishop Hoof,” Derpy said, accepting Hoof’s offer to shake.

“Please, please, just Hoof!” Hoof said with a smile. “You don’t need to call me Bishop unless we’re in church! Come! Come! If we hurry, we can be back in Ashville in time for supper!”

...

The scout car skidded to a halt outside the entrance to the narrow passageway. They had reached the Divide. Vinyl Scratch grinned brightly at the prospect, they had definitely beaten Pips Domino and Pinkie Pie here. Now it was time to set a trap.

They found a small cave some two hundred or so metres up the perimeter of the canyon from the entrance to the narrow passageway to tuck the scout car into, the car was way too big to fit inside it, and there was no way that Vinyl was going to let Pips see it.

“Okay! Let’s split up,” Vinyl said. “Rainbow and Twilight? Head around the canyon and see if you can’t find another way in.”

Rainbow Dash nodded in approval and she and Twilight began walking away from the meeting place, heading north around the circumference of the canyon.

“Guess that just leaves you and me, freak of nature.” Vinyl said with a grin. “Keep in front of me at all times.”

Surprise frowned, but otherwise said nothing, and trotted along slowly back south towards the entrance to the narrow passageway. Surprise stopped short of the entrance to the passageway, standing and staring blankly at it for a few moments, before she turned to Vinyl. “I don’t like it,” she said with a frown.

“Yeah, and I don’t like you,” Vinyl said crossly. “But I learn to deal with it, now march!” Vinyl reached out a foreleg smacked Surprise on the arse. She promptly snapped to attention and began walking forward, with Vinyl Scratch following close behind.

They made it through the passageway without incident, and made an immediate right, staying along the canyon wall and tracing the interior circumference. Surprise said nothing, Vinyl said nothing. Both of them couldn’t help but notice the eerie silence of the canyon, but said nothing about it. Surprise didn’t want to agitate Vinyl by talking. Likewise Vinyl didn’t want to agitate herself by hearing Surprise’s voice.

The two ponies came across narrow ledge, and began to cross it. Then, true to its reputation, the Divide struck, out of nowhere, a strong gust of wind forced Surprise to the ground, Vinyl did her best to maintain her footing, but found herself blown towards the cliff edge ever so slightly.

And then, true to its reputation, the wind died down, Vinyl was near the edge of the cliff, counting herself lucky that she hadn’t been blown off. She sighed a sigh of relief and took a step back towards where she had been before.

True to its reputation, the Divide struck again. Vinyl Scratch had taken no more than a single step before the ground beneath her began to shake, and then it subsided just as quickly.

Crack!

Vinyl looked down, that was the worst sound she could have ever heard, and the visual that had gone along with it was just as bad. The ground suddenly gave way, tumbling down a fifty metre cliff. Vinyl leapt as hard as she could, and caught the newly formed edge of the cliff.

“S... Surprise!” Vinyl called out. The Pegasus turned her head to find her companion was now dangling off the edge of the cliff. “Surprise! Help me!”

Surprise continued to stare blankly at Vinyl, and then a small, eerie smile formed on her face. Vinyl Scratch’s eyes widened in fear, Surprise was going to let her fall.

Vinyl’s grip slipped, she lost her hoofing and began to fall.

It was not the end however, and Vinyl Scratch had noticed that she had fallen no more than five centimetres. She looked over her shoulder to discover that Surprise had leapt forward and had grabbed her. The pegasi’s wings flapping at high speed as she struggled to pull Vinyl Scratch back up.

Surprise grunted loudly and yanked as hard as she could, utilising every bit of might that she could muster, she pulled the unicorn back up onto the ledge.

Vinyl Scratch began to pant heavily, her heart was racing; she had nearly met her end on the edge of that cliff. She looked back at the Pegasus pony that had saved her. Surprise was smiling brightly.

“I... I thought you were going to let me fall...” Vinyl said.

“What? No! I wouldn’t do that!” Surprise said, latching her forelegs around Vinyl Scratch, giving her a tight hug. “Besides! Even if you did fall, I’m a Pegasus! I could just fly and catch you!”

“You just...” Vinyl said. “That smile... I thought...”

“I thought the situation was funny, that’s all, I mean; you hate me!” Surprise said. “And there you were, asking me for help, it was kind of ironic, you know?”

Vinyl found lips curling into a small smile at her Pegasus companion. “Well... if it means anything to you? Right now, I hate you just a little bit less,” Vinyl wrapped her forelegs around Surprise, returning the pegasi’s embrace. “Thank you, Surprise.”

“You’re welcome Vinyl Scratch,” Surprise said.

They continued to embrace for a few more seconds, before eventually releasing each other. Vinyl got to her hooves and extended a foreleg to help Surprise up. “Come on, we best get moving.”

Surprise took the hoof and got up. The two mares started walking.

Comments

[Apocalypse Pony]

Cuteabeetus

[DreadedCandiru2]

Oh, dear; Surprise may or may not be reverting to what she used to be and that may or may not be a good thing; also, the Mormon analogues clearly seem to see cutie marks as a sign of bondage to what they see as false gods.

[Kamineigh]

28763

Or they're all just talentless hacks. OLO.

[CoatedHades436]

IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE FINAL STORY, DO NOT READ THIS COMMENT, THERE IS A MASSIVE, SUPER SAD SPOILER HERE. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. SERIOUSLY, IF U HATE SPOILERS, TURN BACK NOW!!!!!

Godammit wheller, why, WHY, did you make Surprise go permanently MIA and the end of the last series?!?! I'm not even joking, as soon as I read that paragraph about Surprise disappearing, I legitly got depressed for the rest of the day! So now, I imagine a few scenarios where Surprise returns or never leaves in the first place, just so I can get rid of the depression from from the paragraph. (Angry sigh) guess I'll go write down those scenarios, and then play Candy Crush! :D (jk lol candy crush sucks)