//------------------------------// // Starved For Help: "What Is Equestria?" // Story: The Mane 6 And Lee Everett // by Can-dees_Murder_Weapon //------------------------------// The motel is peaceful. Larry is upgrading the motels fence, Lilly is on watch duty, she's sitting on top of an RV. Duck is drawing, Doug and Carely are engaged in a conversation about... technology. Clementine is kicking a soccer ball against a few barrels lazily. All seems to be going we- *RUSTLING* Lilly looks over to the bushes and trees that is across the road, over the fence. She picks up her bolt action rifle and points it over to the bushes, ready to fire. Clementine continues kicking the ball. The rustling continues and the occupants of the motel start to notice. Clementine kicks the ball towards the barrels once more. Lilly looks towards her "Clementine!" She whispers and she looks back towards the bushes. Carely pulls out her Glock 19 handgun and turns off the safety lock. Then Lee emerges from them. "Get the gates open! We've got wounded!" "Shit, what the hell are they doing?" Lilly puts down her gun and goes to climb down the RV. Lee and Kenny push aside a dumpster that was blocking the entrance to the motel. Commotion erupts within the motel. "Who. The. HELL ARE THESE PEOPLE?" Larry yells. "What happened!?" Katjaa (Kennys wife) says nervously. The dumpster is moved out of the way and Ben runs in. "Who are they?" Carely cautiously says. Mark who is assisting David who has an injured leg, comes in next. Soon after, Lee; Including the mane six come in. "Oh look!"- Doug points at the ponies -"At least they brought food back this time." Twilights eyes widen, Applejack and Rainbow glare at him. Fluttershy becomes paralyzed and Pinkie is confused. "Where? I don't see any-" "WE ARE NOT FOOD!" Rarity yells at him, stopping Pinkie from finishing her sentence. "Oh my god! I'm hallucinating!" Doug exclaims. "What. The. HELL?" Larry yells in bewilderment. "Maybe not..." "Everyone, just take it easy. Just let us explain." Lees arms raise. "Get him in to the truck, I-I'll see what I can do," Katjaa says. Mark sets down David in the back of a pickup truck. "Kat! Can you patch him up?" Kenny asks. "Yes, I'm pretty sure I can." "LEE!" Lilly yells. Lee turns towards her. "What the hell? You can't just be bringing new people here! What were you thinking?" "Hey! You wanna calm down for a fucking moment?!" Kenny yells. "HEY! Watch your mouth!" Larry yells back. "NO! I don't"- Lilly hands clench. -"I want to know why you thought bringing more mouths to feed was a good idea!" "They would've died if we left them," Lee says calmly. "So WHAT?" Larry says. Rarity gasps then frowns. "Oh dear Celestia! Have some compassion for other ponies other than yourself, you meat-headed buffoon!" Larry turns towards Rarity and glares at her. "What did you call me?" Larry venomously says. Larry starts walking towards the mare slowly, trying to intimidate her but Rarity stands her ground. "You heard me! Do you want me to repeat myself!?" "Yes," Larry hisses. The two seem like they were gonna throw down. "Alright guys, let's just calm down okay." Carley tries to settle the situation. "Rarity, Just let it go. We need their help, they might be able to help us get back home," Twilight says gently. "But Twi"- Rarity sighs. -"Your right, I'm sorry." "It's alright, there's no need to apologize." "Lee, we are not responsible for every struggling survivor we come across! We. Don't. Have. Enough. FOOD! We need to focus OUR group. Right here, right NOW!" Lilly says. "Well, hang on! We haven't even talked to these people yet maybe they can be helpful!" Carley points out. Lee immediately remembers Twilight releasing the trap to free David. "W-waityeah, Carley's right! That purple unicorn over there"- Lee gestures to Twilight. -"Saved that mans life without even touching him!" It wasn't until after he said that sentence, he realizes how incredibly ridiculous that sounds. "Are you fucking deluded, Lee?" Lilly exasperatedly says. "Umm, Lee are you okay?" Doug says concerned. "Hey! I was there alright and I saw it with my own goddamn eyes! That guy was locked. In a bear trap. With no release latch! And then she"- Kenny points at Twilight. -"Comes along and uses some weird fucking magic shit and busted the thing open!" Lilly shakes her head in irritation. "You two must think I'm some kind of a fucking moron!" Carley looks at Twilight then thinks about Lee and Kennys story. She starts walking over to the mane six, specifically Twilight. "Hey... uhh, what was your name?" "Oh, my name is Twilight." Twilight points to herself. Carley is still feels shocked at the fact that they can talk. "Twilight, Is... their story true? I mean... did... you really save that guy?" Carley looks over to David who is getting his leg bandaged. "Well. Yes." Twilight tilts her head to the side. "Why do you ask?" "Do you think you could show them? So, that they can, you know, stop yelling at each other," "Are your friends always like this? Just yelling at each other all day," Applejack agitatedly asks. "You have no idea and they aren't my friends... well some of them are at least," "Do you have anything to pick up?" Twilight asks. Carley frowns in confusion. "Huh?" "An object? Book, stick anything?" Carley looks off to the side as if she was thinking about something. She pulls out her handgun. "I have this. Why?" "So, I can show you what I did." Twilight steps forward. "You aren't gonna snap it in half are you?" "W-what, NO!" Carley nods and pulls out the clip. She offers it to Twilight. "How are you gonna..." Carley trails off, she stares at the now floating gun that is engulfed in purple aura in bewilderment. She stops breathing for a second. "W-w-wow, h-how is that... possible?" "I'm a unicorn! In equestria, there are three types of ponies. There's Unicorns"- Twilight gestures to herself then Rarity. -"We possess the ability to use magic. Then there are Earth ponies"- She gestures towards Applejack and Pinkie Pie -"They have more strength then Pegasi and Unicorns. And the pegasus-" "Guys! Come here! Take a look at this!" Carley interrupts her. The entire group, excluding Travis, Ben and David comes over to see what she wanted. "WHAT is it? Car-oh my god..." Lilly stops mid sentence. "Told you! She has magic!" Kenny exclaims. "I don't think I'll ever get used to seeing this." Lee scratches the back of his head. "D-dad, why don't you go back to working on the wall?" Lilly says to Larry. Larry glares at the six ponies then walks off. Lilly frowns at Lee. "I need you to do me a favour." She walks over to a vanity case that is leaned up against the RV. She crouches and zips open the case then pulls out a several types of consumables. She stands back up, walks over to Lee and holds out the food items to him. "This is todays food rations, there isn't enough for everyone." Lee takes the items from her. Lilly looks over to the mane six in thought. She shakes her head and walks off. "I can't believe this," she mutters to herself. "Here you go." Twilight floats the gun back into Carleys hand. Carley looks down to the gun in her hand then back to Twilight. "Listen... I'm sorry for interrupting you earlier. I just really wanted to get them stop fighting." "Oh, it's fine. It isn't that big of a deal," "Uhhh Twilight? What do we do now?" Rainbow Dash asks. Twilight looks over to Rainbow Dash. "What was that, Rainb-" Twilight gasps "-Oh yes! Right! I can't believe I forgot!" "Forget what?" Carley asks. "Carley? That's your name, yes?" Carley nods. "Okay. What- I mean where are we?" "Well, assuming that you came from a different planet... you're on Earth." "Earth? Earth... is a... planet... right?" Twilight asks nervously. "Yeah, it's our planet." Carley shrugs. Raritys eyes widen in shock. "We were sent... to a different planet," she says in disbelief. "There's- How did- there's no way," Rainbow Dash says in denial. "I wonder why we were sent here." Pinkie puts a hoof under her chin. "How did we get... here?" Applejack curiously asks. "Umm, we went t-through a portal," Fluttershy timidly says. Applejack stares at her blankly. "Fluttershy, that was a rhetorical question." "Oh okay." "If you don't mind me asking, but where do you... ponies come from?" Carley asks. "Well, we come from Equestria," Twilight answers Carley. Carley nods. "Oh right..." she trails off. "H-hey, excuse me?" Applejack turns and sees Travis. "Yeah? What'cha need?" "I never thanked you, for saving my life. Back in the woods. So... thank you, if it wasn't for you, I might've been dead." Applejack glances back at the other five mares. They are more engaged in a conversation with Carley. Applejack turns back to Travis. Applejack smiled. She felt proud of herself for saving the high school boy. He probably would've gotten outta there anyway... right? She thought to herself. "Pleasure was all mine! You probably would've been fine anyway and... just be more careful next time." Applejack reassures Travis. "Yeah, well, I'll try to remember that next time." Travis says while nodding. He then walks off to sit with Ben and his teacher. Applejack looks up to the sky in thought. She closes her eyes and inhales deeply; then she exhales. She frowns to herself, she recalls everything that happened to her and her friends. A portal, that sent them to a different planet. This is all just... unbelievable! She sighs and then walks over to Clementine who is talking to Lee. "Sure, when did you lose it?" Lee asks. Applejack wonders what the two were talking about. "I had it a couple of days ago." Clementine says with her arms folded over when another. "I promise, If I find it I'll let you know," Lee says sincerely. "Thank you." Clementine now sees Applejack approaching them. Clementine smiles and waves to her. Applejack waves back and Lee turns around. "Oh hey, uhh." Lee struggles to remember to orange ponies name. "It's Applejack, and your name is Lee, right?" Applejack assumed. "Yeah, do you need something, Applejack?" "Well, not really. I just... thought I'd get to know y'all, try to settle down after all that's happened." "Right, I still can't get over the fact that there talking ponies in our world now." Lee sighs. "I guess if the dead are getting up and eating people, I suppose anything could happen." "The dead?" Lee nods and looks over to Clementine. "Listen, Clementine I have a few things I need to take care of." Lee looks at Applejack then back at Clementine. "Why don't you try and talk to, Applejack while I'm gone." "Okay." Lee smiles at Clementine before heading off towards Mark and Larry who are working on the fence. Applejack walks up to Clementine. "Howdy, Clementine," Applejack says. She figures that they might not be getting back to Equestria anytime soon. I should probably get on everyponys good side for the mean time, she thought to herself. "Hi. Do you want to see what I drew?" Clementine smiles before pointing to a board that is layed down on the ground which occupied by coloured pencils, paper and a little boy that Applejack hasn't met yet. "Sure!" Applejack says enthusiastically. Clementine turns around and walks over to the board, with Applejack by her side. "So... you happy Twilight? We saw the "orb" you wanted us to see and now look where we are!" Rainbow Dash was getting more angry as they spoke with Carley, mainly telling Carley about how they got there. Twilight is feeling guilty at the fact that she doomed all her friends, and probably Equestria too! I should've just left it alone, now we're all doomed, and Equestria! What if some unknown enemy finds out that we're gone and decides to take over!? Who would be there to defend it? The Elements Of Harmony are gone! I'm hope princess Celestia and Princess Luna will be able to take care of any potential threats. Twilight is too deep in thought to notice Rarity defending her. "Now, Rainbow Dash, it isn't Twilights fault. How was she able to know that a tiny spec would turn into a portal?" "I wanted to go back home and sleep! Not wonder through the Everfree Forest looking for an orb, through the night!" Rainbow says angrily. "Rainbow please, you would've gladly gone with Twilight if it were any other time of the day," Rarity says while frowning. "Yeah! But it was in the middle of the night!" Rainbows right hoof shoots up in the air as she was saying this. "Well, why are you blaming her then? Besides that reason, there is no re-" "She's right, Rarity. I am to blame," Twilight speaks up, her head slightly lowered. Raritys brow furrows. "If I had just ignored that orb, we wouldn't be here right now," Twilight sadly clarifies. Rarity tilts her head out of sympathy. "Don't blame yourself, Twilight. Your curiosity... just got the better of you. If I was in your position, I would have done the same thing. You'll f-find a way to get us back home." Twilight looks up at Rarity. "That's just it, Rarity. I... don't know how "to" get us back." Twilight walks past Rarity and up to Carley. "You don't suppose there is a book or some sort of spell that can get us back?" Carely sighs sadly. "We don't have magic here on Earth, I don't even think magic even exists here... just witches and warlocks, but they're just myths." Twilights head falls. "But... we do have technology," Twilights ears flutter and she looks up at Carley. "Technology?" "Well, you'll need to talk to Doug"- Carley gestures over to Doug who is on the left side of the fence. -"about that. I'm not very good with technology... just don't get your hopes up, with the way the world is now. It's going to be hard getting back to your world... even impossible. The five mares feel a sense of helplessness. Never returning to Equestria? Twilight isn't going to give up yet, she still has to speak to Doug, every chance that might help them get back, she's going to take; No matter how small. I need to get them back, I have to, I at least have to try, Twilight dreadfully thought. "Thanks, Carley!" Carley smiles and nods to her. Twilight leaves her friends behind to talk to Doug. Fluttershy takes the opportunity to go to Rarity. "Rarity, we-we are gonna get back h-home, right?" She timidly asks. Rarity sighs before turning to look at her. "I... I don't know, Fluttershy. But, I'm gonna stay optimistic. Twilight, will figure something out sooner or later." Twilight heads up to Doug, who seems to be tinkering with something. "Uhh, excuse me?" Doug gasps in fear. "Oh god! Don't do that!" Twilight leans back for a moment. "So sorry, I-I didn't mean to scare you!" "It's..."- Doug sighs. -"It's fine, you're new here. So, you probably don't know what's going on." "I can assume what's happening. I wanted to talk to you... about technology?" "Oh really? What about technology? Do you want to talk about computers? Television?" Twilight had no idea what those items were. "Uhh, teleportation? Is there some sort of device that is able to teleport certain organisms?" "Oh, you trying to get back to your world, huh?" Twilight nods. "Ohhh, listen I hate to break it to you but... even if we knew how to build a teleporter, I very much doubt that we would be able to get the parts to build it. We wouldn't even have any electricity to power the device. Our "kind" hasn't even gotten to the point of teleportation yet, but I don't think we will get there now though," Doug explains sadly. So, that's it... we are really stranded here. Twilight hopelessly thought to herself. She subconsciously lets her head hang and she starts to tear up. Doug looks at her sympathetically. Oh crap, what do I do, Doug thought to himself. "Uhh, at least, you aren't alone right? You have friends with you." Doug points to over to her friends. "I'm sure, at some point you guys will just... vanish- I mean! That's not what I meant, I mean, I'm sure you'll go back to where you guys were before." "Hopefully." "Yes, hopefully... Oh hold on, you want to see what I made?" Might as well, we could be stuck here forever, Twilight thought. "Sure, what is it?" Lee was given food rations by Lilly when he and Kenny first got back. He gave three food items away. Clementine was given half an apple which was her favourite fruit. Mark was still working on the wall with Larry. He was given a piece of jerky and Lee asked if they needed any help with the wall in which, Larry immediately refused. Mark and Larry asked for Lees axe. Lee gave Larry the axe. Lee chose to give Ben some food, Ben and also his teacher thanked him. Lee pulls out the last food item which was in his pocket, it is Cheese and Crackers. He decides to give it away. He puts it back into his pocket. "Some of these people have gone longer than me without food, they're the ones who need it." Lee looks at the ponies who are all doing their own thing. Applejack is still sitting with Clementine and they seem to be getting along well. Twilight is over where Doug is, seems like he's done with his project, Lee thought. The other four seem to be sticking together, I have no idea how long they're gonna be staying here for but I should probably get to know them just in case, he thought. Lee chooses to walk over to the four mares. Before he reaches them, he can hear them speaking amongst themselves. "I hope Angel is okay... oh no, who's going to feed him while I'm gone?" Fluttershy exclaims. "There is no need to worry, Fluttershy. I'm sure somepony will find him at some point... or maybe he will find a way to feed himself," Rarity tries calming Fluttershy down. Pinkie sees Lee and she decides to hop over and greet him. "Hi!" "Hey, uhh..." "Ohhh riiiiight, you don't know my name, do you?" "No... I don't," "Ooh ooh! Let's play guess-that-ponies-or-persons-name game!" Lee just looks at her in return and Pinkie stares back. A long moment passes and no one has yet said anything. "Oh! Silly me! You're waiting for me to start, duh!" "What?" Lee says faintly. "Don't worry about her, she's just being, Pinkie." Lee looks over to the white unicorn. "I'm Rarity, she is Pinkie Pie," Rarity introduces herself and Pinkie who gasps. "Rarity! You're not supposed to help him!" Seems like Pinkie was still playing the game. "Oh dear, Pinkie Pie, he was never going to get your name," Rarity says. That pink horse is just... weird. This entire situation is weird. Lee thought. "If you don't mind me asking but what is your name, sir?" Rarity asks. "It's Lee," "Oh, it is a pleasure to meet you Lee! Is there something you need?" Rarity happily asks. "Nothing much, just wanted to get know you and your friends, just in case if you're gonna be staying. Our group's gonna wanna know about you," "Oh, well, I'm a fashion designer. I construct all types of clothing!" "Really!?" Lee asks bewildered. Lee was intrigued and wanted to know more about Raritys occupation. "Uh huh! I own a dress making shop called "The Carousel Boutique" it is a very successful shop. I am also the element of Generosity," "The element of Generosity?" Lee asked confused. "Yes! We're elements of harmony! Twilight is the element of magic, Rainbow Dash, over there, is the element of Loyalty. Pinkie Pie is the element of Laughter. Fluttershy is kindness and Applejack is honesty. My friends are... I guess you can say guardians of Equestria. Equestria is where we come from by the way," "How IS Equestria? "It's definitely better than being here," Rarity immediately says. "I guess I have to agree."- Lee looks away for a second. "Hey, uhh, you aren't hungry are you?" "No, not really. Why do you ask?" "Well, you see; our group is running low on food, which means we have to keep our rations reserved. Lilly gave me foo-" "Oh then, don't waste your time asking me! I sincerely do appreciate you offering but your friends need it more then we do," Rarity happily says. "You sure?" Lee asks. "I in-sist," Rarity says sternly. "Okay, then..." Lee pulls out the cheese and crackers. Maybe, I should have the last ration. Lee puts it back into his pocket. Lee walks over to the RV to speak to Lilly who is on top of it. He reaches the RV, he looks up at her and nods; indicating that he was finished with the food ration. "Not such an easy job, is it?" Lilly says with her eyebrows raised. Lee looks away in thought then looks back at her. "I don't envy you, I don't know how you have the strength to do this everyday." "I don't have a choice," All of a sudden there is a high-pitched ringing sound that catches the attention from the whole group. It is coming from the fence. Lee and Lilly look over to find Doug crouching by the fence with Twilight. Lee runs over to him to ask what was wrong. By the time he got there, he didn't need to ask anything instead he heard two faint voices coming from over the fence. Carley and the rest of the group come over to where he is. "What do we do?" Carley whispers. There was a little gap between the boards of the fence that she was able to peek through. She sees two men who were heading towards the motel, one of them appears to be carrying a gasoline can. "They don't look armed, should we ambush them?" Kenny whispers. "No! We have a routine, we don't confront them if we don't have to," Lilly exclaims while whispering. Carley is still peeking through the boards and the two strangers were coming closer. Her instincts kick in, she pulls out her handgun and points it the men. "Back off!" She cautiously yells. The men look at her with frightened expressions. One of them speaks up. "Woah! Lady relax... m-me and my brother w-were just wondering if y'all could help us ou-" "I said back off!" She states again. "Carley!" Lilly exasperates. "We don't want any trouble!" Lee yells at the men. "Yeah! Neither do we. I'm Andy St. John and this here's my brother, Dan. We're just out looking for gasoline," Andy explains. Rarity walks up to Lee. "Lee, must we be so... hostile?" She whispers to him. "We don't know who they are, they could be dangerous for all we know," Lee whispers back. Rarity looks through the gap since she wasn't high enough. "They look friendly." "We can't be sure," Andy speaks up again. "Looks like you folks got the Motel locked down, w-which is fine b-but uhh if you could spare any gas, we'd be much obliged," "Why do you need gas?" Carley cautiously asks. "Our place is protected by an electric fence, generators provide the electricity," Andys brother Dan spoke that time. "Our generators run on gas. Look, we own a dairy farm a few miles up the road, if y'all be willing to lower your guns, we can talk about some sort of trade," Andy proposes. Dan chooses to speak up next. "How y'all doin on food? W-we got plenty at the dairy." A pause riddles through out the motel. The occupants of the motel were an internal debate. Lilly looks to Lee. "Lee, why don't you and, Mark check the place out. See, if it's legit." Carley holsters her gun before turning to Lee. "I'm going with you. I got your back if anything seems fishy." Rarity frowns to herself, internally debating if she should risk her neck for a bunch of strangers; who weren't even of the same species. "So, uhh what're y'all thinkin?" Andy says. "You've got a deal... we'll bring SOME gas to your dairy. In exchange, you give us some food to bring back," Lee accepted the trade. Andy smiles. "Sounds fair. A coupla gallons should power one of our generators for a while." "Alright! Give us a minute," Lee asks. "Sure! Take ya time," Lee turns around to look at the group. "Well, it seems like we're headed to the dairy then." He glances around the group. "Is... there anyone that wants to come along?" Rarity eventually chooses to go along with him. "I'll go, as well!" "What!?" Rarity looks at Twilight. "What is wrong, Twilight?" She asks curiously. "I-uh-nothing, I just... no, I wanna go as well. Just in case if anything bad happens," Rarity smiles then nods. "Umm, me and Travis will go along too. In return for saving us," Ben says to Lee. "Alright, that's enough. This is our group. We can't all go over there in one big group," Lee explains. Twilight and Rarity go to their friends to reassure them that they are going to be fine. Rainbow Dash was extremely hesitant and so was Applejack. Fluttershy didn't want them to leave but Rarity convinced her that they would come back unharmed and Pinkie Pie... she just said "Have Fun!" After they were done, Rarity and Twilight walk back to Lee. Lee kneels down to their height. "Are you sure you want to come along?" He gently asks. "I in-sist." Rarity looks over to Twilight who seems unsure. "Yes... I'm sure." Lee slightly nods and stands back up. "Alright, everyone! Lets head out!" END OF CHAPTER...