//------------------------------//
// Survival 
// Story: Calf-Life: Cyclone 
// by Tiedye3000 
//------------------------------//

"Get him out! He's breathing! He's breathing!"
"I can tell he's breathing, ma'am, thank you very much!"
"Oh, aren't you the politest..."
Ponderson came too, and the first thing he realized was that he was still in the plane. the second thing he realized was that he was being dragged by his forelegs. His glasses were hanging off one ear, and his hat was smoking. All around him the sound of alarms and air being released from tanks filled his ears.
"How're you doing, Ponderson?"
He looked at to see who was dragging him, and met the eyes of Ash.
"Headache," Ponderson said simply.
"Well, that figures," a voice said in behind him, and he turned to see the blue pony from earlier, "I'm still marveled that you survived with that blow you took. An entire seat to the head! You have a thick skull, you do."
"I hope that was a complement," Ash said as she dragged Ponderson off the plane. A different sound now occupied his ears. A sort of groaning, like something was in agonizing pain.
"Aw, crap!" The blue pony said, reaching into a suitcase (which Ponderson guessed was his) and took out an Uzi, "I hope you can walk, Ponzy, because I predict we'll all be dead if you continue to slow us down like this."
"Yeah, I can walk," Ponderson grunted. Ash dropped him and he struggled to regain balance. He fixed his glasses to see what was making the noise.
"How did you get that through airport security?" Ash asked the blue pony, staring at the gun with a horrified look on her face.
"I know a few ways too dodge the law," he said, "I know how too do many things."
"Well, do you know what those things are?" Ponderson asked, pointing out into the field they crashed into.
Ash and the pony looked where he was pointing, and they saw about four dozen bloody Earth Pony corpses crawling towards them. Their chests were torn open, revealing their rib cage, heart, and lungs. It looked like they were wearing fleshy helmets.
"Those are headcrab zombies, my friend," the blue pony stated, "And these are ear plugs. You should put them on for now."
He threw a pair of ear plugs to Ponderson and Ash, who caught them and stuffed them into their ears while the blue pony did the same. He cocked his weapon and fired at the zombies, hitting and killing six of them.
"Go!" he mouthed to Ponderson and Ash, "I'll catch up!"
They took off running left towards a cave. More and more headcrabs kept showing up, and Ash nearly tripped over one as she ran. They weren't five more steps away from the cave entrance when something came and clasped onto Ponderson's head. He went blind, his ear plugs vanished, and he tumbled to the ground. He could hear Ash screaming as he tried to pry the thing off his face, but it wouldn't come loose. He could feel veins running into his temple, and he started to relax. He was dying, he thought as his struggling eased, he was surly dying.
At that moment, however, he heard a gun fire, and the thing attached to his head slid off. He could see again, but he was sweating tremendously. He wiped his face with his hoofs and looked behind him, and he saw the blue pony running up to them. Ash grabbed Ponderson by his hoof and help him up, and they ran into the cave together.
"Quick!" Ash said as she took out her ear plugs, "Help me barricade the entrance!"
The blue pony came running in, firing his gun madly, and Ponderson went momentarily deaf. He plugged his ears and couldn't tell what was happening. All he could see was a group of bodies crawling in, a body zooming inside, and everything going dark.
Silence.
"Ah," said an unfamiliar, gruff voice, "Sorry 'bout that. Any pony got a light?"
Ponderson was blinded by a brightness that flashed unexpectedly. He grunted in pain, shielding his eyes. When his eyes adjusted, he saw the blue pony holding a lantern, Ash copying Ponderson, and a new pony sitting on a rock. He was a brown Pegasus pony, with a dirty blond mane and tail. His eyes were purple, and it looked like he hadn't shaved in days.
"Apologizes," the blue pony said when he saw me and Ash, and he turned the light down. I relaxed in this  amount of britghness and turned to gaze at the newcomer.
" 'Ello, lads!" He said brightly, "Who are you all?"
"Who are we?" the blue pony said , "You just trapped us in this rotten cave! And you want to friendly talk us?"
"Didn't mean it!" The Pegasus said, "Winchester's me name, and I'm flyin' low over the country side away from City 12 over thar, and I see this plane goin' down. And I wonders, 'What in the name of Celestia happened over 'ere?' So I come soarin' over, hopin' there'd be survivors, when I see three ponies runnin' towards this cave. I flew over quickly as i could, ran into a boulder, and I dazed meself. As it came topplin' down, I came to me senses and flew right in 'ere too make sure every pony was safe and sound."
"Oh, yeah!" The blue pony  sarcastically, "Yeah, we're fine here! Just a little case of stranded in a cave, is all!"
"Be greatful yer alive," Winchester said grumpily, "Now, I told ye my name, now what's yers?"
"You may call me Typhoon," the blue pony said , "Typhoon and proud too be so!"
"Right," Winchester said in an annoyed tone, and he turned to Ash, "And what be your name?"
"Briquette Ashfeld," she answered cooperatively, "But I go by Ash."
"Ash..." Winchester repeated, and he turned to Ponderson, "And what 'bout you?"
"Ponderson," he said, "My name's Ponderson."
Winchester looked around at all of us, reciting our name aloud, "Typhoon, Ash, Ponderson. And what be yer special talents?" he added eagerly.
"What is this to you?" Typhoon questioned angrily, "A camp-out?"
"," Winchester said simply, and Typhoon scoffed.
"My special talent is in pyrotechnics," Ash said quickly, and Ponerson looked at her in surprise. Pyrotechnics?"
"Really, now?" Winchester asked, and it became clear he was just as surprised as Ponderson was, "What's yer cutie mark?"
Ash rolled onto her back to reveal her flanks, and on each of them was a single burning flame.
"What about you?" Ash asked him curiously.
"I'm specially talented in winning!" Winchester announced, "Heck, it's in me name!"
Typhoon broke out into a fit of hysterics.
"Winning?" He laughed , once he regained control of his voice, "Your talent is winning? Then why is your cutie mark a beer bottle?"
"Maybe because I'm best at winning drinking games!" Winchester suggested furiously, "And do I have to ask what yers be? Probably along the lines o' gettin' on every ponies nerves or makin' sure no pony likes you!"
"Ponies like me!" Typhoon yelled, "Just because a fat drunk like you doesn't like me-"
"What did you just call me!?" Winchester roared as he stood up from the rock he was sitting on.
"I hate having to repeat myself, but I'll make an exception!" Typhoon shouted, "I said you were a fat drunk! Or are you too inebriated to understand me!?"
Winchester started towards Typhoon, and Ponderson got up and tried to hold him back, but it was like trying to stop a steam roller. He bulldozed over him easily, and he leaped at Typhoon. He would've beaten him to a pulp if Ash hadn't tackled Typhoon out of the way.
"What are you doing!?" She screeched, "We can't fight each other already! We hardly know each other!"
"He called me a fat drunk!" Winchester cried.
"And you're taking it very maturely!" Typhoon yelled from under Ash, "In the meantime, after I apologize, could you get this mare off of me?"
Ponderson sat up and realized he couldn't see anything again, but knew it wasn't dark. He felt his face, and he discovered his glasses were no longer on the bridge of his nose.
"Hey!" He called out, "Could you three stop messing around and help me find my glasses?"
"Yes!" Typhoon shouted, "Let's go help Ponderson! Let's help him and forget this ever happened!"
"I second that," Ash agreed.
"Oh, alright," Winchester grunted, "But I haven't forgiven him yet."
Ponderson crawled around on the floor of the cave, feeling for his glasses, when a sharp pain stuck into his right hoof. He cried, and Ash came hurrying up.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"Something stabbed me!" Ponderson said, bringing his hoof close to his face to see it better. There was a shard of glass in stuck his hoof, and he was bleeding slowly.
"Uh-oh," Ash said, scooping something up and causing a rattling noise, "I think I found your glasses, Ponderson."
He sighed. "They're broken, aren't they?"
"Broken glasses?" Typhoon's voice called, "Chester, look what you did!"
"I did nothin'!" Winchester argued, "Don't start a whole nother argument!"
"I'm just saying," Typhoon said calmly, "You did run him over like a freight train."
Winchester opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again, but it seemed that he couldn't come up with a reply, so he kept it closed.
"I'm sure we can fix them," Ash soothed, "We just need someone whose special talent is fixing! Typhoon?"
"Not me, ma'am," Typhoon said, "My special talent is in predictions."
"Now wait just a minute!" Winchester piped up, "If you're special talent is predicting, then why is your cutie mark a storm cloud?"
"Because I am exceedingly well in predicting weather," Typhoon answered, "And I can't predict whether or not we'll be able to get out of here or when."
Winchester chuckled. "Whether," he laughed, "I see what you did there."
They soon came to an agreement that they needed to get out of the cave soon and find some pony who could fix Ponderon's glasses. Typhoon and Winchester tried to move the boulder blocking the way out, but it wouldn't budge. Ash joined in, and still nothing. Finally they had to help Ponderson over and ave him push with them. Nothing.
" 's no use." Winchester said groaned, giving up and sitting back on his rock.
"I predict we'll never get out," Typhoon moaned, sitting next to Winchester, "And you smell."
"Typhoon," Winchester said, "Are you always complaining about everything?"
"Life is nothing but complaints," Typhoon answered in a bored tone, "Might as well get used to it."
Ash, though every pony had given up, kept ramming herself into the boulder. She pushed and pushed for a full five minutes, and it didn't help at all.
"Help!" She shouted, startling the other three, "Some pony help!"
"No pony's gonna hear ya," Winchester said, but Ash kept shouting.
"Help! Some pony, help! We're in the cave!"
"I'm coming, I'm coming! Hold your horses!"
Every pony froze. Did some pony just answer?