Dear Breeze,
Hey Breeze, I'm writing to you because I feel like we're drifting apart. Now, with everything that's been happening to me lately, it's kind of been taking up all my free time. I know that I haven't really been around that much, and I know that no excuse in the world will make up for it. But I just want you to know I still care. I still love you. We've just got to make it work.
Lots of love, Meadow
I wish it could've. Breeze thought, holding back a tear. She folded up the letter and put it back in her saddlebag. It was the only thing she had left to remember her by, so she kept it with her at all times. The broken-down car she'd found hadn't had anything useful in it. Just a bunch of empty cans, empty water bottles, and an empty gas can.
No surprise there. She thought. She picked up one of the water bottles and examined it. She turned it over in her hooves, and decided it was in good enough condition to re-use. Breeze was just about to leave the ruined car, when she heard a noise. She perked her ears in the direction it came from, and listened intently. She dropped to the ground almost immediately, because she knew that sound. She knew it all too well.
It was a pack of Stalkers. Vicious, disgusting, and powerful. She'd come across these mutants before, but that was in a different situation. Now there were 5 of them, all headed straight for her.
Breeze started to panic, she didn't know what to do. You couldn't even run if you wanted to, not from Stalkers, let alone 5 of them. Then the thought struck her. If you can't run, hide. She crawled over to the left side of the car, and tried to roll underneath it.
Her saddlebag! It wouldn't fit, she was stuck halfway underneath the car, and she could hear the group of Stalkers approaching on her right. She tried frantically to push forward, maybe loosen it up a bit, but it wouldn't budge. The only thing she could do was back up, and move right out into the open. But if she didn't, and decided to lay still, they would still see her once they passed the car. Then what could she do? She pushed forward with all her strength, desperatley trying to break one of the straps so she could hide.
The group was getting closer by every passing second, and if Breeze hadn't snapped the left strap of her saddlebag just then, and wiggled under the car, she would have easily been spotted.
Moments later, the group shambled past, grunting and moaning, horrible sounds. She watched as their mangled hooves moved right past her face, merely two feet from where she was lying. Breeze was hoping she would get lucky, that they would pass her by, unnoticed. But luck had abandoned her long ago. One of the Stalkers stopped directly in front of the car, and flicked its tongue in the air. It moved slowly towards the drivers side door, and started to examine it.
Please, please leave. Just leave me alone! Go away! She shouted at the creature with her thoughts. Just stop!
It was standing at an odd angle, peering through the window. It looked back at its group, and opened the door. It creaked, startling Breeze, but she knew better than to let it phase her. All she had to do was lie still, and stay silent. The Stalker, obviously in a hurry, glanced back, and decided that the car wasn't worth its time. Breeze exhaled a sigh of relief, and closed her eyes.
She waited what she thought was at least ten minutes, and crawled out from her hiding spot. The Stalkers were long gone, so she took the time to look through her saddlebag. She had a canteen that was half-full of clean water, two almond granola bars, a red Swiss army knife, a broken compass, a light grey jacket, and her letter from Meadow. Not much, but she wasn't complaining. She knew that she was lucky to even have anything at all.
From what Breeze had seen throughout her time in Canterlot, life was not easy. Especially now, after the entire country had collapsed. The two Princesses that ruled the land fell out of power. Celestia was killed during a public speech, trying to calm the citizens of Canterlot. Not even the Royal Guard could protect her against the thousands of angry ponies that were hungry for the truth. Luna, the second Princess, fled to a nearby city, called Cloudsdale. But that was months ago, so who knows what condition Equestria is in now.
The only thing Breeze cared about was surviving, and getting back to her home in Ponyville.
* * * * * *
Breeze was exhausted. She had been walking for days, and hadn't been getting nearly enough sleep. Instead of continuing her journey on the road, she decided to take some time out to rest. She trotted across the gravel, over to the right shoulder of the road, and sat down on the flat, grassy area next to it. She took off her saddlebag and set it next to her. She stretched her legs, and looked up at the night sky above. It's so beautiful. She thought. The stars were shining, and everything was okay.
At least, until she had to get up and face the world again.
* * * * * *
When Breeze finally got up, she felt very refreshed. She opened her saddlebag, took out one of the granola bars, and drank some water. A good breakfast for a morning in Equestria. She started down the road, eating her granola bar, and thinking about the day she had ahead of her.
When she reached the outskirts of the city, she started walking a bit slower, and tried to stay hidden whenever she could. There was no telling what kind of dangers could be lurking around every corner. Breeze knew that entering the city was a risky idea. But she needed supplies, and she knew that she wouldn't last long without them. The first building she came across on her way into Manehatten was a gas-station. A dull, flat-roofed, and dirty structure. Very inviting. Stealthily, she approached a car that was next to a gas pump. She looked inside through the broken window, and was terrified of what she saw. Blood. Lots of blood.
It covered the pony in the drivers seat, and most of the dashboard. There was more than she had ever seen in her entire life. Which wasn't really that much, considering the fact that Breeze hadn't been around a dead body before. She backed away, gagging on the stench, and made her way to the entrance of the gas station, stepping over garbage and debris along the way.
Breeze ducked, and crawled towards the cashiers desk. Once she was safely behind the counter, she got up and took a good look at the store she was in. It was empty, except for a few shelves, barren of anything useful. She was having a hard time seeing, because the only light came in through the entrance, and all the windows were boarded up. She squinted over to the far side of the store, and noticed a room.
Probably for storage. She thought. Taking care to make as little noise as possible, Breeze trotted over to the door, and extended a hoof towards the handle. As if on que, when her hoof was about to touch it, she heard somepony yelling from just outside of the gas station. Without having second thoughts, Breeze burst through the door, not caring about what was in it, and listened to the situation unfolding outside.
"Get away from there, we have to run!" Yelled the first pony.
"We have to hide! You can't run from them!" Replied a second. "Come on, in here." The pony motioned to the gas station.
Oh no. Not here! Thought Breeze. Now every creature in the area will know I'm here! She was scared, and she was trapped between freakish mutants, and ponies that could potentially be dangerous. She could hear the two ponies talking in hushed voices, but couldn't figure out what they were saying.
"We shouldn't have c... I mean just look at... I'm so scared..."
Breeze decided to take a chance, and slowly opened the door, just a crack. This time, she got a good look at them. The first pony she saw could easily be identified as a child, and was covered from head to hoof in clothing, masking her features, and appearing to be uninjured. The second one however, didn't fare too well. There were bloody cuts and bruises all over her dirty yellow coat, and most of her lime green mane was torn and ruined.
Breeze watched them with curiosity, and let out the breath she'd been holding in. She shut the door, taking caution to make sure it was done as quietly as possible. Behind her, was a bunch of shelves, and she realized the room was actually a large closet.
"Hey, listen, I... I don't know what happened okay. He just wasn't thinking straight." One of the ponies outside said softly, trying her hardest to try and comfort the other.
The closet door slowly began to open wider, and a curious pony's head poked out, starting to eavesdrop on the conversation unfolding in the store.
"B-but he's gone mommy. He's gone!" The small pony whimpered, and buried her head in her mothers soft yellow coat.
"Hush now, it's okay darling, I'm here. Just close your eyes..."
She's so caring, I wish my mother was like that. Breeze recoiled at the thought of her deceased relative.
Outside the store, shrieks and screams could be heard, echoing throughout the streets. Her blood ran cold, as she realized something dreadful.
They followed them. Here.
Breeze could hear the two ponies scrambling to get up, and heard something even more sinister than the screams of the infected.
"Come on, over here." The yellow earth pony whispered. "We can hide in this room."
And by "This room", Breeze just knew that they meant the closet. The very closet she was hiding in. She couldn't do anything about it either, and that frightened her deeply. But for some reason, the ponies didn't enter her closet. They were talking about another room. One that Breeze had obviously missed.
The sounds the mutant was making were getting louder, and they were getting scarier. She was frozen, and the only thing she could do was wait in the dark, with her pocketknife in-hoof. The mutant entered the gas station. Breeze could hear it's hoarse breathing, as if somepony had replaced it's skin with sandpaper.
It was alone, and It didn't seem like It was here to make friends. It came here to kill its prey. It flicked it's tounge, tasting the air. And after a moments hesitation, turned It's head towards the other room. The one that it's prey had foolishly decided to hide in.
Breeze didn't know what to do, she was scared, and she feared for her life. But she couldn't just let them die, could she? How could she live with herself afterwards, knowing that she could've saved a mother and her child?
All these thoughts raced through her head, and Breeze made a decision. One that would probably cost her her life. She stood up, and peered through a crack in the door. The mutant was already halfway to the other room, so Breeze had to act fast, or face the consequences.
The mutant could smell Its prize. Just beyond the door, were two ponies, waiting to be eaten. It flicked It's tounge again, trying to get the taste back, and headed for the door. When the mutant reached its destination, it started hammering at the door, trying hard to enter. But something was barricading it. The beast let out a terrifying scream, and tried harder, splintering the wooden frame.
It was then, at that moment, that the door burst open. The mutant was bucked, hard, and fell back a few feet. The yellow earth pony, as injured as she was, had managed to kill a monster. Or so she thought.
The mother then turned around, turned her back on the creature, and went back into the room for her child.
Only, she didn't.
Before she could even take two steps, before she could tell her daughter that everything was going to be okay, she was impaled by the mutants elongated arm. Her body hung in mid-air, suspended above the ground by the creatures claw-like arm.
Lifeless.
It had all happened so fast. So fast, that Breeze couldn't process it. Didn't want to process it. But it had happened, and Breeze didn't want two lives on her conscience.
The mutant then set it's sights on the filly, huddled in the corner of what appeared to be another closet. Slowly, the dying body of the yellow pony, mane glistening with blood, slipped to the ground with an audible thud.
The creature then made a sound. One that would haunt the young filly for the rest of her life. The sound that to her, meant death.
"Kid! Run!" Breeze screamed, as she ran at the mutant, her knife ready for action.
The mutant turned, and deflected her blow. It's arm connecting with Breeze like a whip, throwing her to the ground. The tiny filly watched, horrified, as she ran past, her tiny wings propelling her forward. The knife had landed a few feet away from Breeze, and it was her only weapon. Her only lifeline, and it was out of reach. The mutants claw smashed into the ground, right where her head was only a second before. Breeze lunged at the creature, and pushed it away, causing it to crash into a wall. She dodged another attack, and dove over to where the knife lay.
Her hoof reached for the fallen knife, but fell short when a tentacle wrapped itself around her back leg, pulling her back. Slowly, the knife grew smaller, and faded from view as she was turned to face her attacker.
Up close, the mutant looked like it had taken a bath in acid. It's 'coat' was just mangled fur, with chunks of flesh hanging off it. And the claw it was using protruded from its back, where one of its wings would've been if it were a Pegasus. It's eyes were green, and it had teeth like none she'd ever seen before. Large, sharp, bloody, and... glowing.
In the time it took Breeze to analyze It's features, It had begun to convulse ontop of her. Its body shook, and trembled, spewing bile all over Breeze.
This must be what death feels like. Thought Breeze. I am experiencing death.
Breeze fought her hardest to get up, but the thing had her pinned to the ground. It was doing something to her, and she wasn't thinking clearly. She was in shock. The mutants tentacle, which slithered of its mouth, came into view and started to peel away at the top. Reavealing four deadly looking spikes, all moving towards her face.
It was then that Breeze lost it. She screamed louder than she'd ever screamed before. The spikes, now starting to look more like talons, were inches from her face, almost daring her to squirm. Before the talons could move any further, the creature suddenly jerked forward, then went limp, and fell atop her, immobile. Shocked out of her mind, Breeze then saw something that made her even more confused.
Her pocketknife. It had somehow buried itself in the creatures’ skull, the red handle glinting in what little light was in the room. Breeze forcefully wrestled the corpse off her and got up, eyeing her savior.
"You came back?" Breeze asked thankfully.
The little filly looked at her. The one that had watched her mother die right in front of her. The filly whose bravery exceeded her age.
"I... yeah, I guess I did." She replied quietly, unsure of what to do next.
"Thank you so much." Breeze said, wiping some of the gross liquid out of her eye. "I tried to help your mom, but... I couldn't reach her in time."
The filly looked back at her mothers dead body, and started to cry.
"I... She's gone too." Tears stained her delicate face. "Now I'm all alone..."
"No your not." Breeze said soothingly, taking a step towards her. “Everything’s going to be alright.”
She could only imagine what this filly was going through. No child should have to endure what this filly had just experienced. The thought of this made Breeze angry, and her hatred for the mutants grew stronger by the second.
"I'll take care of you, don't worry. Everything will be okay." Breeze tried to get the filly to look up at her. "I promise."
The filly turned to face Breeze.
"You will?" Her pinkish purple eyes looked up at her, her sorrow fading.
"Yes." Breeze replied, smiling.
* * * * * *
Breeze and the young filly left the gas-station, leaving all of the misery behind them. The sun was now low on the horizon, and the sky was a dark grey. The wind was starting to pick up too, and she could feel the cold air brushing past her coat.. Thoughtfully, she looked down at the filly who walked beside her and noticed she was shivering.
"Hey, it's pretty cold out, do you want my jacket?" Breeze asked the filly.
"Sure, I am kinda chilly." The filly said happily.
Breeze stopped and lowered her saddlebag to the ground, pulling out her light grey jacket.
"Here you go." She said with a smile.
The filly put it on quickly, warming her orange fur.
"So, uh, what do we do if we see another monster?" The filly said worriedly.
"Oh, I'm sure we'll figure something out, don't worry."
Breeze was scared of what would happen if they did come across another mutant, but she didn't want the young filly to know that.
"Hey kid, I forgot to ask you before. What's your name?" Breeze questioned.
The orange filly looked down, her purple mane falling over her eyes.
"Scootaloo." she replied quietly.