//------------------------------// // Recuperating // Story: The Survivor // by Chemtest //------------------------------// He slowly begins to regain feeling. Instantly, he feels a softness under him, and a missing coat on top of him. He opens his eyes, and takes in a wooden roof above him. He slowly leans himself up, looking to see that he is in a bed. His mask is still securely attached to his face, but everything else, minus his chainmail, lay on a nearby table. Survivor lifts a blanket off of himself, and looks down the side of the bed. There are a pair of socks, and his boots. He quickly slips both of them on, and they instantly meld themselves to him so he can barely feel them. With boots firmly on, he stands up. His boots clank against the wooden floor, creating a creaking sound that fills his mind with memories of home. He quickly pushes the memories out, and instead begins to put on everything else. He straps on his gloves, throws on his trench coat, puts his knife into it’s sheathe, and every gun into it’s proper holster. He looks outside, seeing the sun barely peeking over a nearby hill. Very early. Although it might be later than he thinks, there are no hills to obscure the sun back in Florida anyway. He quickly turns to the nearby door, and exits into a long hallway. He moves down a staircase, quick, yet making sure not to make too much noise. He can hear clinking, and a slight conversation, from a kitchen connected to the main room. He gets all the way down, and flings open the door to leave. Yet, on the other side of the door, stands an orange, fully grown horse with a hat on. The two stare at each other for a second. Then, the orange one slightly tilts her hat, “Uh, howdy. Didn’t know you were awake.” Survivor takes a step back, “You can talk?” A green, old mare pokes her head out of the kitchen, “Oh, is our guest awake?” A young voice comes from up the stairs, “He’s awake?!” Survivor looks up the stairs, only to see the same foal he rescued earlier. The yellow one of the bunch, the one that saved him. He lightens up immediately, “Oh, it’s you!” She smiles, and almost hops down the stairs with joy, “You’re awake, you’re awake! Oh, we were so scared, with-“ The orange mare interrupts her as she finishes her hops down the stairs, “Apple Bloom, don’t hop down those stairs. I swear, I tell you this every time.” Survivor glares at her for a second, his mind once again filled with memories. He banishes them, and turns to Apple Bloom, “Apple Bloom, huh? An odd name, but who am I to judge the names of an alien species with an entirely different culture. Heh, not like I’ve got a normal name myself.” The orange mare tilts her hat once again, “Well, I’m Applejack, what might your name be?” He looks back over to her, “Survivor. Not much of a name, but, heh, it’s all I am now.” Apple Bloom speaks up, “Now? Does that mean you had a different name before?” He begins to speak, only to be cut off by Applejack, “Now, Apple Bloom, that’s rude to ask of someone. I’m sure if he wanted us to know, he would’ve mentioned it.” He glares at Applejack some more, but she doesn’t notice as she stares at Apple Bloom. He clears his throat, “Actually, Applejack, I am absolutely fine with that question. Yes, I had a different name before, now I am just Survivor. Although it’s more of a title than a name.” Apple Bloom smiles, “Well, glad to meet you, Survivor! You saved us, and even though you were quite heavy to drag back home, we’re glad you were there. And I bet you’re probably glad I could use that explosion device.” Applejack speaks once more, right before Survivor could respond. She shakes her head, “Apple Bloom, stop telling stories, we’ve already been over this before. Survivor here passed out, and rightly forgot some of that incident. Your filling of his head with this story of you using some explosion to kill a Timberwolf ain’t gonna help him remember proper.” Survivor glares at her again, memories flooding his head too much. He stomps towards the door, “I need some fresh air.” He can barely hear Applejack from behind him, “Now look what you’ve done, making him storm off like that. I’ll go make sure he ain’t offended by anything you said.” He stops on a front porch, and decides to lean against the outer railing. He looks out into the Apple orchard as the morning sun rises. He looks off into the distance, where a mountain seems to raise out of nothing. A giant city is planted on the side, and something seems to be calling Survivor over there. But then he hears hooves behind him. Applejack moves up, staying right behind him, “Listen, Survivor, I’m sorry if anything Bloom said may have offended you. She’s a good foal, but don’t exactly think through her actions or listen.” He looks over the orchard some more, “Nothing she said offended me, Applejack. That conversation just filled me with... memories.” Applejack speaks, “How so?” He looks back into his memories, “You know she looks up to you, right?” Applejack takes a step back from the question, “Well, she sure don’t act like it.” He reflects upon himself, “She does look up to you... I know the feeling. Yet, you constantly kept shutting her down throughout that entire conversation. That hurts so much... I know the feeling.” Applejack raises an eyebrow, “Shutting her down? All I did was tell her not to lie, to be more careful.” He glances back at her, “She didn’t lie, Applejack. She saved me from a Timberwolf with my revolver. And then she and her three friends dragged me to your house.” Applejack stops, “Well... I didn’t know. She just lies so much, I felt like this one was for sure. I just don’t get it.. if she looks up to me, why would she lie?” He looks back to the orchard, “Sometimes, we fall from our ideals just to avoid punishment. Lying about every trivial thing just in the fear it might get someone to look at you in a negative light, or that it might’ve broken a rule you didn’t know existed. I’m a younger brother, Applejack... was a younger brother. And I looked up to my elder my whole life. He seemed so brave, so nice, so cool. He was popular, everyone loved him, and I did as well. We argued, we lied, we cheated each other. Every sibling does. It takes someone truly brave to be the bigger man. You never know when... when they won’t come home from school. And you don’t want your final interaction to be something dumb.” He takes a shuddering breath as tears begin to form in his eyes, “Because you’ll feel guilty all of your life... because you let down the one you looked up to.” Applejack places a hoof on his shoulder, “I’m sorry, Survivor.” He fights back all the sadness, “Then don’t do it, Applejack. Put faith in Apple Bloom, trust her a little bit. And if she messes up, don’t scold her, but just teach her.” Applejack nods, “I’ll try, Survivor. Now come on, breakfast is almost ready.”