The wind blew softly through the pine trees, whispering on down the mountain. They swayed and groaned, standing tall like giants, watching over the small town below. This town, or more of a scattering of poorly constructed shelters that somewhat resemble habitable dwellings, sat nestled between these trees. A single dirt road snaked its way from the town's center, and down the mountain into the distant valley.
With a puff of grey ash, an orange colt stepped off this very path and stood before the cluster of buildings. He waited for a moment, breathing in and out slowly, gazing at the miserable looking metal and wood constructs.
Somehow this pony, whose name was Pizzamovies; Or Pez for short as the other pony inhabitants of the little town knew him as, was content living here. This was his home. The only home he had, and it was a complete garbage dump.
Gazing up at the dark grey sky, he thought he could almost see the sun, peeking its life giving warmth out from behind the ash and haze. He felt as if nothing could ruin this beautiful afternoon. That was until he heard a loud shout from above, and it was in that moment he knew, he screwed up.
"Incoming!" With a gush of wind, a blur of brown fur and feathers landed on top of his back, forcing him down to the dusty ground.
With his four legs splayed out in all directions and his head in the dirt, it was hard for Pizza to see who it was. But that voice was all too familiar. Say hello to the best of friends and Pegasus partner in crime, Twister Breeze. Twister was the most rowdy, humiliating pony this side of old Dodge. But he was the only one who met the requirements to be considered a friend at all.
With a mumble and a muffled groan, Pizza tried to shift his weight and throw the disturbing pegasus off his back.
"Get off you dodo minded oaf!"
Now, usually Twister would comply with this demand. But, he had something special on his mind. "Of course I will, as soon as you admit you were plot peeking."
Incredulous, Pizza grunted a reply. "Plot peeking? The hell are you talking about?"
Twister pointed with a hoof towards the center of town, where a young filly trotted along slowly. This pony, dark in color with a wavy orange mane and a complexion that would knock out a Minotaur with one look, just so happened to be Incendia. She, also so happened to be Pizza's long time crush. Also did I mention she was a unicorn?
"You know exactly who I'm talking about. Don't even bother trying." Twister laughed at his own joke, feeling pretty proud he had caught Pizza in the act. But this sort of thing happened all the time.
Using this moment of distraction, Pizza found the strength to push off his hooves, lifting Twister up and over, and tossing him seven feet to the right. It wasn’t that impressive considering Pegasus ponies have hollow bones and are lighter than a feather pillow.
Still, the pegasus made a satisfying thud when he hit the ground. In the cloud of dust, he sprung back up and flapped his wings, turning to face his new “opponent”. This was the showdown of the century.
The two stared at each other for a moment, like one of those old western Appaloosa projection movies. Not a hoof twitched. After about a minute they both relaxed and stepped towards each other, and with a quick hoof bump the two acted like nothing had happened. Might I add this was a usual greeting between the two ponies. Talk about a rivalry.
"So tell me, had any luck yet with her?" Asked Twister, raising a curious eyebrow and jerking a head back towards her direction for the second time to emphasize his point.
Pizza shrugged. “ I don't know, I had found some old comics in the abandoned grain silos. She seemed to like them but old Belkins came and shooed me off."
Now, as much as Incendia was a filly, she was tough and could take care of herself, especially with her magical abilities. But one old pony, who’s name was Mr Belkins, and also owned the only tavern in town, had a soft spot for her. Not in a weird way, but sort of like that wise old uncle who got drunk and told crazy stories kind of way. You can see how that works out, so she lives in a small shack behind his place.
"Darn that sucks, well you might as well talk to her while he is overseeing his establishment." Suggested Twister as he began to walk off towards Incendia.
"You don't seem to get it do you?"
Said Pizza as he followed close behind.
“Get what?”
“That i don't want any more trouble.
Twister rolled his eyes. “That's what they all say.”
“All? I’m the only pony you talk to!” Cried Pizza, but the voice fell on deaf ears. He followed behind Twister grudgingly.
They passed the first few buildings, nothing more than square wooden shacks with metal sheet roofs. The best housing around exclusively scavenged from an old factory and a train. Father beyond there were a few two story constructs, made of the same dirt grade materials, but at least these had windows. Whoop.
As they strode by the first of these "shops", they passed by a shady figure leaned up against a dark wooden post. This is Waromack, the dark brown and even darker minded stallion. Always moody and holding some kind of weapon. He is a mercenary hired by Belkin, usually around just to stop petty bar fights. But he has come in handy a few times when a roving gang or ruffian stops by and tries some funny business. The corpses from the last raid Belkin had to deal with still hang in the forest..somewhere.
Not making any contact they kept moving, but the stallion's eyes never left them alone, until they were out of sight, then he went back to snoozing, tugging the wide brim hat lower to cover his eyes. But one would be a fool to think he was ever truly asleep.
Looking back down the path, they caught the tail end of Incendia slipping into the wooden door of the Stealthy Stable. It closed behind her leaving the two stallions standing outside alone.
Twister looked at him and smiled.
"Only one thing to do brother." He motioned with a hoof for Pizza to go first. Who in turn, kindly declined the offer with a slight shake of the head. That was a bad decision.
"Alright you asked for it.” And with that, he took two strides and threw the tavern door open and went inside, a wide grin on his face.
Visibly panicking for a moment, Pizza debated whether to go in a face the consequences of whatever Twister was doing, or to run away into the woods and never come back. Either sounded good at the moment, even the mutated creatures and gangs sounded better than the humiliation of what was about to happen. With a groan his better judgment won out, and he timidly entered the dim building. Shoving down his anticipation and fear, partly.
Walking through a second opening, he was immediately hit with the usual smells of the Stealthy, vomit, sex and smoke. Not the best atmosphere but the air was probably still better here then back out there. Already having to step over a puddle of spilled booze, he spotted Twister at the curved bar, talking with Incendia like they were old pals. He cringed and moved to the left, taking the long way around all the tables.
Behind the bar, Belkins spotted him and gave a very unfriendly look, as if his eyes could throw him out of the bar on their own. So, what happened last time they were here involved the leader of the Dragoons squad, a parasprite and seven liters of Moab Jack. It did not end well and Pizza found out just how well Belkins employed the shotgun he hid behind the counter. So, now they are sorta banned. But he never turns down a paying customer, which thankfully is their new found loophole.
Twisters ears perked and he turned and spotted Pizza, already ready to put his plan into action. “Hey Pez! Come on over we were just talking about you.”
Typical. With a sigh and ears hotter then a Cybengernade, he walked over, ignoring the gaze of Belkins and Incendia alike, who the latter seemed very curious indeed. Making sure to sit on the side opposite to her, he boosted himself up onto the old creaky stool, turning to face the other two.
“So glad of you to join us Pizzamovies.” Said Incendia in her low, smooth voice. It sent shivers down his spine how she used his full name.
He was about to reply when Twister answered for him. “Don't sweat it fancy hooves, my pal Pizza would not miss a meeting like this for anything in Equestria.”
Pizza looked quite confused. “Meeting? I was never told of this Twister.” His face gave a clear message; shut up this is a horrible idea and we should evacuate immediately. Of course his partner is the worst at taking hints and went right on flapping his lips.
“In fact, it's so great that he even suggested earlier that the three of us go on an adventure, together.” He had drawn out that last word for emphasis.
Incendia looked a bit skeptical, before using her horn to levitate a mug, and taking a sip of the copper colored beverage she was drinking. She smacked her lips at the taste and smiled. “Sounds like a great idea, although, what is there for us to explore?”
She had a good point, and Twister looked dead at Pizza expecting him to answer. He stammered for a moment and coughed up a hasty response. “We could...check out that old factory. It's been ages since we have been back in there.”
She looked at him with a deadpan expression of disappointment and sighed, turning back towards the counter. “Sounds boring. You guys can go ahead.”
Pizza glanced at Twister with a sense of emergency, but his face said it all. The pegasus silently mouthed the word relax and turned back to Incendia. “What if I told you there was a weapons cache of some kind in there..and we gotta find it.”
Now that sparked her interest and she looked back at the two and took another sip. “Alright, what kind of weapons and where exactly?”
“Well I do know they date back to before the war, and I bet they still are in great condition.” Said Twister in a matter of fact tone. “Unfortunately, I have no idea where exactly. Probably in the underground levels somewhere.”
Belkins, who this entire time had appeared to be cleaning up behind the counter, was actually eavesdropping, and spoke up in his old raspy voice. “You sprites better not be planning to go there. That's Reshel territory, even Waromack had a tough time with those folks. Stay outta where you don't belong, if you want to keep your head where it belongs.” He snorted and eyed Pizza and Twister with a sour expression, before continuing to clean, his point made.
Not knowing what to do, the two colts just looked down at the bar counter. After a moment Incendia groaned and grabbed Twister by the wing, jumping off the stool and onto the wooden floor.
“Let's go losers, we got some work to do.” She said as she half dragged, half led the unaware and innocent Pegasus across the bar. She took a quick glance back at Belkin, who only gave a silent nod in return.
Pizza jumped down and quickly followed after and met them back outside. It was quite late now, but with there being no sun, it can be kinda hard to tell the time. So we’ll say around dusk because there is no way it's the morning.
Incendia had let go of Twisters poor wing, who was now rubbing it with a look of scorn, but stayed quiet. He could complain, but you don’t complain around Incendia, she’ll just laugh in your face and tell you to grow a spine or something. Not exactly the dispensing machine for sympathy if you know what I mean.
“You have a plan then?” Asked Pizza bringing up the rear.
“You can bet your last apple on it. Unfortunately, my mind works in mysterious ways so you dumb colts will have a hard time understanding.” She said in a sassy tone and flicked her tail at them for effect. Pizza just silently agreed on the mysterious part.
Twister just shook his head in amusement. “Sounds like you have been thinking about going somewhere long before I said anything.” He paused and corrected himself, glancing at Pizza. “I mean we, suggested it.”
“You got that right.” She stopped as they reached the end of the path and the edge of town. What lay before them now was a large field of dead grass and grey dirt, and beyond that a foreboding pine forest.
“Always wanted to find out what was...beyond.”
There was silence before the two colts burst into hysterics. Twister patted Pez on the back as they laughed and guffawed at her.
“Beyond? That sounds more like an adventure novel to the moon with princess Luna then a trip through the woods.” Said Twister between gasps of air.
She huffed and turned to face them as they regained their composure, if only slightly. “Yes, beyond, as in further then the forest and even the mountain itself.”
“Cendi, come on you're just asking to get killed now. I thought we were just gonna go explore the factory.”
She shrugged and began across the open field, swishing her tail back and forth in a circular motion, which Pizza found quite alluring. “Well no time to waste! Besides...it will be even more fun in the dark.”
Pizza watched her leave and looked at Twister with a hopeless expression. “Oh now you've gone and done it Twist, not only is she gonna get herself shredded, but us as well in the damn process!”
“Relax. Just keep your eye on my wings.” He paused. “Or her rump, whatever suits you best.” Twister wasted no time following after, he flapped once and was airborne flying slowly above her. Pizza was left standing there with a vacant expression on his face.
“But wait! We don't have any supplies! Or a map!” He called out in a confused voice.
“Oh shut up Pez! We’ll be fine.” Twister shouted back.
Groaning, Pizza took one last look back at the town and took off to catch up. He slowed down once he came side by side with Incendia. She took no notice, not even glancing his way. This is what we will consider as strike one. After a few moments of stomping across the dirt, they reached the edge of the field and stood before the leading row of pine trees.
“They look way bigger from above.” Said Twister, hovering over them with his hooves crossed.
Incendia did not stop her stride and went straight into the forest, passing by the first few scattered trunks, some that were wider then two stallions side by side. Twister swooped down and landed next to her and kept speed, with Pizza bringing the rear a few paces back.
She spoke up after a few minutes of walking, the clearing and the town out of sight far behind them now. “As you both know, the AppleCore Munitions plant has been abandoned for almost 10 years. Before the war, it produced high quality magic based weapons and gear designed for specialty combat teams.”
Twister nodded, slightly paying attention. He knew his history but most of what she said was just mumbo jumbo. The part about magical weapons did catch his attention.
“So, odds are this place had been picked clean by ponies far greater in skill and luck then us. I have been back here once but never ventured past the outside staging yards.”
Twister sighed, his impatience was most thin and unappreciated by Incendia. “Ok Cendi we get it, you know your stuff. Get to the good part already.”
“Alrighty my goodness.” She huffed and stuck a pink tongue out at him. “What I'm trying to say is don't get your hopes up guys.”
“Easy enough..I was not expecting to come out here anyways.” Said Pizza from behind.
She glanced back slightly but ignored him. “Twister can you see anything ahead?”
“No not really.” He squinted his eyes and peered through the trees.
“I meant to fly up and look you stupid bird brain.”
He rolled his eyes and pushed up and hovered a few meters off the ground. “I knew that.” He scanned through the forest and spotted what appeared to be a brick wall, roughly two Ponies shoulder height and topped with wire. “I think I see what your talking about.”
“And that is?”
“Some kind of wall up ahead, looks abandoned.”
“Of course it's abandoned, that's what we're looking for.”
He landed back down next to her and she stopped for him. “Sorry I don't have as much experience going off looking for treasure.”
“Shut up and follow me.” She brushed past him and continued on towards the distant wall up ahead.
Twister looked at Pizza, who merely raised an eyebrow and shrugged. They followed after side by side attempting to catch up with her. Soon she stopped a few paces from the wall. Inspecting the cracked and mossy bricks for a moment, she then turned towards the two awaiting colts.
“Alright, I don't exactly remember where the main gate was.”
“No problem, let's just go over.”
Pizza frowned. “Were not all capable of flight here.”
“Obviously Pez, I'll just carry you two over.”
He smiled at that, and replied in a sarcastic tone. “Really? You're gonna carry me over this wall.” He shook his head and chuckled at the thought. The absurdity of it. “Yeah I'll stick to trying to knock it down instead.”
Incendia groaned. “Will you two stop being such idiots for once and let me think.”
After a moment of pondering she trotted off to the left along the wall, forcing the two to either stand there awkwardly watching or follow after. They wasted no time with the latter.
The wall made a slight broad curve and eventually they came to a large metal gate. Both of the once copper and steel gates lay on the ground, their hinges and bars rusted. Incendia walked over them and through the opening, soon standing in the entrance to a wide courtyard, she gazed up, and rising out of the vegetation and ash, like some ancient jungle beast. stood the massive ruins of a factory.