//------------------------------// // 3 Weeks after Savannah // Story: The Best For You // by Can-dees_Murder_Weapon //------------------------------// Rarity and Clementine have been on the road for a couple of weeks now. It was mainly them moving from place to place, stopping at some point to take a rest. That was a daily basis; wake up, start moving until they came across a new place to stay at. That gas station they decided to hunker down at wasn't much but it had a roof and four walls which were perfectly enough. Couldn't complain, not in this world. Rarity was lucky enough to have even come across the station. Most of her time was spent tracking through the woods, ducking herds, left from right. Half of the time she would have issues trying to figure out which direction to head in, seeing as how there was nothing but brush everywhere she looked. You could only imagine her relief when she found the road, finally being rid of the woods. Everything was okay, to say the least. It wasn't perfect but the seamstress was hanging in there. She was feeling somewhat better, but still, she lacked that motivation deep down. The will to keep going. She always tried to ignore it, just simply shrug it off but it would constantly come back when she would finally take a rest. At one point, the seamstress wondered what it would be like if she were alone. If she didn't have Clementine to take care of. When she found Lee and the child, so much had transpired and she found herself as her new guardian. Lee had told her what to do but to her shame, she wasn't able to carry it out. Once she left that rotten excuse of a city, she had a child with her, she couldn't take the risk of going back into it for the sake of tracking down her friends. It was hard enough trying to survive on her own... The two were travelling along the road in a fairly rural environment. Their left side was nothing but the wilderness, trees, brushes and to their right was a wide-open grass area, more specifically, dead wilted grass. They were coming up on a couple of road signs. One read "Truck Stop Rest Area" with an arrow pointing to the right. The other few were insignificant, old commercial posters that were peeling off the steel of the sign. Rarity sighed. "Well, looks like we've found another rest stop." "Finally, we've been walking for hours," Clementine replied. The child would sometimes attempt to strike up a conversation but it would always end up one-sided and eventually, she would just stop trying. Rarity couldn't find the will engage in conversation "Hopefully, it'll have some supplies." The mare remarked. "Don't we already have some though?" "Yes, we do but I always want to be prepared. You can never have too much." They continued down the road for a little while until they came across a turn-off. Rarity followed and she came upon a small parking lot with a sign that indicated for cars on the right and trucks to the left. In the middle of the pitstop was two structures. The smaller one, being the latrine and the other was slightly bigger and the purpose of it was unknown to the mare. She noticed a few walkers aimlessly roaming around the area. To her apprehension, she would have to take care of them. She stopped causing the child to halt as well. "Clementine, wait here for a moment. I need to deal with these... vermin." "You always get me to wait. Can't I help you?" The young girl argued. "No." Rarity simply replied. "Why though?" "Again, you'll only get yourself hurt. What exactly are you going to do without a weapon?" Rarity didn't wait for her to respond, she began walking over to the roamers. Not her first time dealing with them, she dealt with plenty back in Savannah. A new norm she adapted to fairly quickly. She made light work of the roamers, using her magic to slam their heads into the pavement. Soon after, the two of them walked over to the rest area. "This seems like a nice spot to stay," Clementine said. "Perhaps..." Rarity muttered. The windows inside the rest stop were boarded up, only a few gaps in the boards allowed the sun to shine through. Cluttered mess on the floors, junk and metal tables that Rarity had flipped over to keep the doors sealed shut. There was essentially only one room, the mare hadn't bothered to check the restrooms that were next door. Clementine sat down by the corner, shrugging off her backpack and began rummaging through it. She pulled out a half-eaten granola bar she found a few days prior. Rarity had been staring at the same wall for... well, a while now. That would frequently happen, every time they would find somewhere to rest; she'd always find herself being sucked back into her thoughts. She honestly disliked it, having to rest but she needed it... Clementine needed it. She would rather keep going, at least then she had something to focus on. "Rarity?" "Hmm?" The mare turned at Clementine who was holding up her granola bar. "You want some?" "Mm-mm." She shook her head. "It's yours but thank you, dear." "Oh okay, are you sure?" "Yes... I am sure." They both stayed silent from then on. Clementine sighed inwardly, there wasn't a point to try and start a conversation if it was only going to be one-sided. Rarity opened her eyes, awakening from her sleep. A roar came from outside. It made her paralyzed, stuck staring at the door blocked by metal tables. It wasn't faint and it sounded like it was getting closer by the second. This was no ordinary roar, it sounded like nothing that you would hear from an animal. This one was different... like an engine. Rarity was quick to conclude that it was a vehicle. It got closer and soon enough, the roar of the engine was right outside the pit stop. The mare stood up, frantic, looking for the child. Her horn lit up a small portion of the room and she found the child, stirring in her sleep. "Clementine!" The mare whispered, gently shaking her. "Clementine, wake up." It was dark out, the sun had but the dust a while ago. It was difficult to navigate around the room, utterly pitch black. Sometimes, the glow of the moon would've provided some light for the room; in this case, the windows had been boarded up which left the two in complete darkness. "Clementine!" Suddenly, the engine went silent and voices could be heard on the other side of the door and a few thuds came after. "Rarity? What's goi-" "Shhh! Quiet!" The mare harshly whispered, turning back around at the door. "What's going on?" The child inquired. "A'ight yeah, ah'll get t'that in a minute!" "Yeah well, hurry it up! We ain't gon' wait out 'ere forever!" "Y'wanna check out this place?" "Nah, ah doubt there's anything 'ere anyway, it's a rest stop." "Ya never know, could be some valuable shit 'n there." Rarity and Clementine silently listened in to the stranger's conversation, a pool of dread filling their stomachs. "Well, you can go 'n there if ya want. Ah'm gonna wait out here." "Fine but if there's loot... it's all mine." "Whatever." Suddenly, a pair of footsteps were approaching the door at a steady pace and the door began to rattle. "The hell?" They heard on the other side of the door. Rarity's breathing began to hasten. She walked in front of Clementine to shield her from what was about to happen. The door began to rattle then turned into full-on bangs, making the mare jump. Her horn then went. After a few moments, the tables that were blocking the door began to grind against the floors. "Be anymore louder why don't you?" "You're gonna attract walkers, asshat!" Rarity's heart was about ready to burst out of her chest. If it were any faster, she'd pass out. The door had opened slightly and a flashlight shined through. A head appeared out from behind the door, and what Rarity presumed was his hand had shined the flashlight in their face; blinding them. "The fuck..." The stranger muttered to himself. "What? What'd ya find?" A voice came from outside, a deep country accent. The stranger silently stared at the unicorn, not responding to his friend. Rarity wasn't able to see the man's face but she could tell he was in complete shock. "The hell... are you?" He whispered, pushing the door open further, allowing himself to come in. The headlights of the vehicle they were using were had lit up a large proportion of the room. Seeing no other use of the flashlight, he turned it off and went further into the rest stop. "Don't come any closer." The man immediately stopped after the mare spoke. The headlights had provided a better view of the man in front of her. He looked to be fairly young, maybe mid-twenties. Short patchy beard, shaggy hair. A pair of jeans and a button shirt. What grabbed her attention was the rifle in the man's hand. "Turn around... and leave." Rarity quietly continued. Her eyes were square with the intent of watching him. She noticed his eyes going behind her, presumably at Clementine. "Davy! You found anything!?" "Uhh... y-y'all ain't gonna believe this!" The man known as Davy called out. "Dude, hurry the hell up! Trevor's done, we're waitin' on you!" "Guys just shut the hell up and come 'n 'ere!" "Oh for the love of God, what the hell is it-" Another man with thick slicked back hair came into the rest stop and saw the unicorn. He had a scruffy beard, pair of jeans and a black t-shirt. "The fuck is that?" He breathlessly said. "Back up." Rarity warned, readying herself for trouble. "You cannot be fuckin' serious... this thing-or-whatever-the-hell it is, can talk?" Both the man and Davy stood there, side by side, shock written all over their faces. "It looks like a... a-a unicorn to me," Davy muttered to his friend. "Unicorns ain't real, moron." "Then what the hell are we starin' at then?" "I am in fact, a unicorn." Rarity interjected, suspicion laced in her tone. "I don't want to ask again, but please leave this establishment." "Why? It ain't like you own the place." Davy replied. "Whoa-whoa-wait, hang on! What the hell are you even doin' 'ere!? How the fuck did you even get 'ere!?" His friend interrupted. "Can you..." Rarity cleared her throat. "Hold back on the profanity, frankly, it's quite unnecessary." "Not in this case," Davy retorted. "Fine. How did you get here, unicorn?" His friend repeated sarcastically? Rarity grunted. "I don't have to explain anything to you." "Why not?" "Get out of here." "Well ain't you a bitch right now." "I could say the same for you." The mare kept her stare on the man. She noticed the pistol in the man's hand, slight ticking. "Listen, all I want is for you to leave. All of you. We don't have to cause any trouble." "Yeah well, I dunno where yer from but there ain't any unicorns 'round 'ere-" "I've noticed." The mare said, cutting off Davy. "...y-yeah. Well then, I'm sure you can understand our... perspective? Why we'd be a bit... freaked out." "Yes, I see why but that doesn't change the fact that you two are strangers and judging by your friend there; you seem very unpleasant." Davy eyed his friend. "Y-yeah, but that's just the way he is." Rarity stayed silent, observing the two men. As far as she knew, they weren't to be trusted. "Is that kid-uhh..." He trailed off. "Just a friend, I'm looking after her." Davy slowly nodded in understanding. His friend silently watched the interaction, Rarity was keeping a close eye on him. "A-are you guys lost... or somethin'?" He inquired. "We're just following the road." The mare offered simple answers, she wasn't looking for a conversation; she wanted them to hit the road. "Hey yo, what's takin' y'all so long?" Then a scrawny looking man, who had to be no older than thirty came into the rest stop. He immediately saw Rarity. "The hell's that?" "Alright, that's it, enough with this. You people are overstaying your welcome here. You either leave or I'll make you leave." The mare ignored the scrawny man's shock at the talking pony. "And how exactly are you planning to do that?" The man with the slicked hairstyle grunted out, his tone didn't go unnoticed by Rarity. She kept her silence. Her horn began to glow, the firearms in their hands were swiftly snatched from them and began hovering in mid-air. "The fuck!?" "Hey-hey-hey, let's just relax a'ight." "I'll relax when you walk out the door." The unicorn retorted, her voice deep and low. "R-Rarity?" "Quiet!" The mare hushed the child behind her. "Rarity? Rarity, y-your name's Rarity right? Listen, just-" "No, you listen. I don't trust you, I don't want to, nor do I need to and that being said; I highly suggest that you take your friends and leave." She turned the deadly weapons against them, ready to pull the trigger if needed. "Hey-hey, just hold on a minute! Do you guys have a group? Is it just y'all out 'ere or what?" "It is none of your concern." "Oh come on, just work with me right!?" "Hey, Davy a-ah think it's best if we just get the hell outta 'ere." The scrawny man muttered to him. "She has our guns." "And she'll kill us with 'em if we don't leave." "What the hell is going on here!?" Another stranger came into the rest stop. It was a woman, most likely in her mid-twenties. Curly shoulder-length hair, holding a rifle in her hands. "LEAVE!" Rarity yelled, the guns still hovering in the air. She began walking toward them. "Go! Now! Move!" The mare began forcing them out, backing up out of the rest stop. She felt the cold air flowing around her and saw the vehicle they were using. A small four-seater jeep. "Get in and leave!" "W-wait, hold the fuck on! What the hell is that!?" The woman's inquiry was entirely ignored. "You gon' give us back our weapons or not!?" The man with the slicked-back hair interjected. "Just get in the car and leave!" The group reluctantly got into their jeep, switching on the ignition and slowly accelerated away. As the humans drew distance, the mare felt a weight lift off her chest, finally allowing herself to breathe. She gently laid the guns onto the gravel below, hammers slamming in her chest. As the lights of the vehicle vanished into the darkness, the mare felt a breeze on her forehead later followed up by moisture. She didn't know if the group would be back or not but she had an inkling that they would. The seamstress did not want to go wandering off into the dark, not without the bright light of the vehicle anymore; it was near pitch-black. She didn't like how she acted toward them, practically robbing them of their protection. Thinking about it now, she hated it. She had seen her fair share of conflict between walkers and humans. The st. Johns, the bandits at the motel; she wasn't naive to the fact that humans were dangerous. Probably even more dangerous than the walkers, she couldn't take the chance of trusting them but that don't mean she had to like it. The image of her drawing their weapons on them flashed through her mind, gnawing guilt eating away at her stomach. She could've killed them right then and there, just pulled the trigger and that would've been it. She would've killed someone for the first time. She would've became a killer. The thought alone horrified her. Killing walkers were one thing, they were already dead. They were no longer sentient, as for killing someone who was still alive... She stole one last look at the darkness, her horn began to glow and the weapons she had dropped on the ground were floating again. She went back inside the rest stop and closed the door shut. Maybe it was best to leave, the pit stop was compromised. Someone knew where they were. This place was no longer safe.